Elevator (aircraft) in the context of Canard (aeronautics)

A centre stick (spelled center stick in American English), or simply control stick, is an aircraft cockpit arrangement where the control column (or joystick) is located in the center of the cockpit either between the pilot's legs or between the pilots' positions. Since the throttle controls are typically located to the left of the pilot, the right hand is used for the stick, although left-hand or both-hands operation is possible if required.

The centre stick is a part of an aircraft's flight control system and is typically linked to its ailerons and elevators, or alternatively to its elevons, by control rods or control cables on basic aircraft. On heavier, faster, more advanced aircraft the centre stick may also control power-assist modules. Modern aircraft centre sticks are also usually equipped with a number of electrical control switches within easy finger reach, in order to reduce the pilot's workload.

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.

Elevons or tailerons are aircraft control surfaces that combine the functions of the elevator (used for pitch control) and the aileron (used for roll control), hence the name. They are frequently used on tailless aircraft such as flying wings. An elevon that is not part of the main wing, but instead is a separate tail surface, is a stabilator (but stabilators are also used for pitch control only, with no roll function, as on the Piper Cherokee series of aircraft).

Elevons are installed on each side of the aircraft at the trailing edge of the wing. When moved in the same direction (up or down) they will cause a pitching force (nose up or nose down) to be applied to the airframe. When moved differentially, (one up, one down) they will cause a rolling force to be applied. These forces may be applied simultaneously by appropriate positioning of the elevons e.g. one wing's elevons completely down and the other wing's elevons partly down.