Rudiments of Aircraft and Aeronautical Concepts

Explore the main wing’s control surfaces—flaps, slats, spoilers, and speed brakes—and learn how extending flaps and slats increases lift for takeoff and landing while spoilers create drag.

Discover how ailerons at the wingtips control the aircraft's roll for turning. They move in opposite directions to push air up or down, lifting one wing and lowering the other.

Explore how winglets reduce induced drag by displacing wingtip vortices and improving airplane performance. Learn about common winglet types, especially the blended winglet.

Examine the airplane tail and its role in pitch and yaw. See how the horizontal stabilizer and elevators control pitch, while the vertical stabilizer and rudder govern yaw.

Explore turbofan and turbojet engines, their thrust production, air flow through compressors and combustion chambers, and how turbojets deliver higher thrust for military and supersonic flight.

Explore aviation origins from da Vinci's flying machine to modern airliners, highlighting early gliders and iconic aircraft like the A380 and 787 Dreamliner.

Explore the Airbus A320 cockpit controls, focusing on the sidestick for pitch and roll and the primary flight display (PFD), including autopilot disconnect and the communication button.

Operate the rudder pedals to control the rudder and steer by moving pedals in opposite directions for turns and yaw, and push the pedals downward to apply brakes.

The throttle controls fuel to the engines and sets speed; idle yields 20% thrust, takeoff thrust maximizes speed, and reverse thrust slows the plane using target, clamshell, and cold-stream systems.

Explore how pilots control flaps and spoilers on the Airbus A320 using side-by-side levers, set flaps to zero to full, and arm spoilers for landing.