Aircraft principal axes in the context of "Elevator (aeronautics)"

A reaction control system (RCS) is a spacecraft system that uses thrusters to provide attitude control and translation. Alternatively, reaction wheels can be used for attitude control, rather than RCS. Use of diverted engine thrust to provide stable attitude control of a short-or-vertical takeoff and landing aircraft below conventional winged flight speeds, such as with the Harrier "jump jet", may also be referred to as a reaction control system.

Reaction control systems are capable of providing small amounts of thrust in any desired direction or combination of directions. An RCS is also capable of providing torque to allow control of rotation (roll, pitch, and yaw).

Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of gravity (cg), known as pitch, roll and yaw. These are collectively known as aircraft attitude, often principally relative to the atmospheric frame in normal flight, but also relative to terrain during takeoff or landing, or when operating at low elevation. The concept of attitude is not specific to fixed-wing aircraft, but also extends to rotary aircraft such as helicopters, and dirigibles, where the flight dynamics involved in establishing and controlling attitude are entirely different.

Control systems adjust the orientation of a vehicle about its cg. A control system includes control surfaces which, when deflected, generate a moment (or couple from ailerons) about the cg which rotates the aircraft in pitch, roll, and yaw. For example, a pitching moment comes from a force applied at a distance forward or aft of the cg, causing the aircraft to pitch up or down.

The North American F-100 Super Sabre was an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United States Air Force (USAF) fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight.

The F-100 was envisioned during the late 1940s as a higher-performance successor to the F-86 Sabre air superiority fighter. Initially referred to as the Sabre 45, it was delivered as an unsolicited proposal to the USAF in January 1951, leading to two prototypes being ordered one year later following modifications. The first YF-100A performed its maiden flight on 25 May 1953, seven months ahead of schedule. Flight testing demonstrated both the F-100's promising performance and several deficiencies, which included its tendency of yaw instability and inertia coupling that led to numerous fatal accidents. On 27 September 1954, the F-100A officially entered USAF service, however, as a result of six major accidents occurred by 10 November 1954, the type was grounded while investigations and remedial work were conducted. The F-100 returned to flight in February 1955.

The empennage (/ˌɑːmpɪˈnɑːʒ/ or /ˈɛmpɪnɪdʒ/), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow. The term derives from the French language verb empenner which means "to feather an arrow". Most aircraft feature an empennage incorporating vertical and horizontal stabilising surfaces which stabilise the flight dynamics of yaw and pitch, as well as housing control surfaces.

Many early aircraft that lacked a stabilising empennage were virtually unflyable, despite having other effective control surfaces. Even so-called "tailless aircraft" usually have a tail fin (usually a vertical stabiliser). Heavier-than-air aircraft without any kind of empennage (such as the Northrop B-2) are rare, and generally use specially shaped airfoils whose trailing edge provide pitch stability, and rearward-swept wings, often with dihedral to provide the necessary yaw stability. In some aircraft with swept wings, the airfoil section or angle of incidence may change radically towards the tip.

Flight control surfaces are aerodynamic devices allowing a pilot to adjust and control the aircraft's flight attitude. The primary function of these is to control the aircraft's movement along the three axes of rotation. Flight control surfaces are generally operated by dedicated aircraft flight control systems.

Development of an effective set of flight control surfaces was a critical advance in the history of development of aircraft. Early efforts at fixed-wing aircraft design succeeded in generating sufficient lift to get the aircraft off the ground, however with limited control. The development of effective flight controls allowed stable flight.