How does a plane fly?
Learning Byte Summary ▾
Plane control surfaces
Do you ever wonder how a plane flies? A plane has three parts that are used to control its movements. Let’s learn about the primary motions of planes—roll, yaw, and pitch. Experiment with both the paper plane and the simulation to better understand these movements!
Roll motion
Let’s start with the paper plane. With its nose straight, make it go around. This move is called a roll. Roll movement is controlled by ailerons, which are part of the plane’s wings. Let’s visualize this in the simulation.
- What do you notice when you change the aileron slider? When one goes up, does the other go in the same direction or the opposite?
- What happens when the left wing aileron is up and the right one is down? Which direction does the plane roll?
- What happens when the right wing aileron is up and the left one is down? Which direction does the plane roll?
Play with the roll motion in the simulation below.
Learning Checkpoints — Roll
When one aileron goes up, does the other go in the same direction or the opposite?
Left wing aileron up and right wing aileron down. Which direction does the plane roll?
Right wing aileron up and left wing aileron down. Which direction does the plane roll?
Yaw motion
Now, we can also take our paper plane and make it move sideways. This is called yaw motion. Yaw motion is controlled by the part on the tail of the plane, known as a rudder. Now, jump back to the simulation below.
- What happens when you move the rudder to the left? Which direction does the plane go? Why do you think it moves that way?
- Now, move the rudder to the right. Which direction does the plane go? Why do you think it moves this way?
Learning Checkpoints — Yaw
Move the rudder to the left. Which direction does the plane go?
Move the rudder to the right. Which direction does the plane go?
Pitch motion
The final move is easy. Imagine a plane flying at a certain height and now wanting to land. It will slowly start descending. This movement is primarily controlled by another part on the tail of the plane known as the elevator. It’s perhaps called an elevator because it takes the plane up and down! Now jump back to the simulation.
- Change the elevator up. Which direction does the plane move—up or down? Why do you think it moves this way?
- Now change the elevator down. Which direction does the plane move—up or down? Why do you think it moves this way?
Learning Checkpoints — Pitch
Elevator up. Does the nose go up or down?
Elevator down. Does the nose go up or down?
Going forward!
- Explore and take your notes! Hope you had fun learning about the plane’s movements.
- Do you think birds also perform these movements—roll, yaw, and pitch? Have you ever wondered how birds fly?
Recap of top ideas
- Planes have three control surfaces: ailerons for roll, rudder for yaw, and elevator for pitch.
- Roll motion is controlled by ailerons; moving one up causes the plane to roll in the opposite direction.
- Yaw motion is controlled by the rudder; moving it left or right causes the plane to turn in the direction of the rudder.
- Pitch motion is controlled by the elevator; moving it up causes the nose of the plane to go up, and moving it down causes the plane’s nose to dip.
