The motion about the aircraft’s longitudinal axis produced by the ailerons is called what?

The motion about the aircraft’s longitudinal axis produced by the ailerons is called what?

• A. Pitch
• B. Roll
• C. Yaw
• D. Sway

Answer: (B)

Roll is the rotation about the aircraft’s longitudinal axis, the line running from nose to tail. Ailerons produce this by moving in opposite directions: one wing’s aileron deflects down while the other deflects up, increasing lift on one wing and decreasing it on the other. The result is a tilting of the aircraft side to side around the nose-to-tail axis. Pitch, by contrast, is rotation about the lateral axis (wingtip to wingtip) controlled by the elevator, and yaw is rotation about the vertical axis controlled by the rudder. Sway isn’t a defined rotational motion in this context. So the motion produced by the ailerons is roll.

Roll is the rotation about the aircraft’s longitudinal axis, the line running from nose to tail. Ailerons produce this by moving in opposite directions: one wing’s aileron deflects down while the other deflects up, increasing lift on one wing and decreasing it on the other. The result is a tilting of the aircraft side to side around the nose-to-tail axis. Pitch, by contrast, is rotation about the lateral axis (wingtip to wingtip) controlled by the elevator, and yaw is rotation about the vertical axis controlled by the rudder. Sway isn’t a defined rotational motion in this context. So the motion produced by the ailerons is roll.