11.3.

3 Stabilisers

Construction;
Control surface attachment.

 PRIMARY CONTROL SURFACE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

The Wright Brothers’ aircraft and other early aircraft made use of wing warping to alter the camber of the
wings to roll the aeroplane. This was soon found to be inefficient, and a section of the wing’s outboard
trailing edge was hinged to form ailerons. As each control surface is effectively a small aerofoil, it has its
own centre of gravity and centre of pressure. If the control surface were hinged at its leading edge with an
input in line with the hinge, the mass of material behind the hinge line would act to make the controls
heavy, increasing the effort required to move them. The pilot would have no mechanical advantage. This
would increase the effort required for the pilot to deflect them, see diagram 5.24. To overcome these
problems, the designer can use aerodynamic balancing and mass balancing.

 FLUTTER

Control surface flutter is a condition where the trailing edge oscillates either side of its neutral point. There
are several factors that contribute to flutter. These are:

􀂾 The elasticity of the aerofoil section to which the control is attached

􀂾 The location of the control surface C of G
􀂾 Rigidity of the control run

As an aerofoil, such as the wing, is subject to aerodynamic loads, due to its design, it bends and
twists. This bending and twisting can create a vibration that acts backward to the control surface. If the C
of G is aft of the hinge line, the trailing edge is deflected, although there is no control input. The deflection
of the trailing edge creates bending within the control surface, which in turn springs the trailing edge in the
opposite direction, and so on. While this problem is normally associated with high-speed flight, GA aircraft
with sloppy controls
can achieve airspeeds in a dive where control surface flutter may occur. The designer must
ensure that the natural vibration frequencies that induce flutter do not occur in the flight range of
airspeeds. To overcome this, the designer can either move the CG on to the hinge line with mass
balancing or make the wing/control surface more rigid.

 MASS BALANCE

Mass balancing can take the form of an internal weight added to the leading edge of the control surface,
referred to as internal mass balance. It can also take the form of an external weight fitted to a lever arm
(horn) attached to the control surface’s structure. Refer to diagram 5.25 for an illustration.

Where the hinge line of the control is at or very close to the control surface’s leading edge or the mass of
material required to be added internally would be disadvantageous (increased overall gross mass), the
designer would opt to have a smaller mass acting over a longer lever arm mounted externally. External
mass balances are normally for use on slower aircraft and, if required, are fitted to the ailerons and
rudder. Normally, there is sufficient space within the fuselage for the elevator's mass
balance horn to move, thus eliminating the need for another external projection and its associated
drag.

Where an external mass balance is used to balance the ailerons, it is standard for one horn to be
attached to each aileron’s structure on the underside. In operation, each balances its associated aileron.
Being on the underside of the wing, it has less effect on the airflow across the control surface. If a rudder
requires external mass balancing, and it is not feasible to mount a single horn from the top (head) of the
rudder, then two smaller masses, one mounted each side of the rudder, ensure that it is correctly
balanced.

 AERODYNAMIC BALANCING

For manually actuated control surfaces hinged directly at their leading edges, the pilot has to apply all the
effort required to deflect them. To reduce the effort required, aerodynamic balancing is used. This can
take the form of inset hinges or a horn balance.

 INSET HINGES

In this design, the hinge line is located aft of the leading edge of the control surface. These are
termed inset hinges. When the control is deflected in one direction, the leading edge of the control surface
moves in the opposite direction and protrudes from the opposite side of the aerofoil surface to which it is
attached. This has the effect of moving the leading edge into the airflow, resulting in a force being
created that assists the pilot to move the control.
HORN BALANCE

For some aircraft, this aerodynamic effect is achieved by having a balance horn protruding from
the outboard edge of the control surface. This allows for a simpler leading edge hinge attachment. It is
normally confined to elevators and rudders. The use of an aerodynamic horn balance allows the designer
to locate the balance mass for the control surface at its tip. This reduces the amount of material required
compared with an internal balance fitted just ahead of the hinge line, as it is able to act over a lever arm.
This makes the horn act as an external mass balance at the same time as providing aerodynamic
balance.

If the area ahead of an inset hinge or balance horn is too large, the action of deflecting the control results
in the control wanting to move to full deflection. If the area ahead of the inset hinge or balance horn is
sufficiently large that the aerodynamic balance created equals the hinge movement of the rest of the
surface, the pilot loses the sense of feel for that control. If the balance area exceeds 1/5 of the total area,
the control becomes over-balanced and any deflection results in the control surface driving itself to the
fully deflected condition.

INTERNAL BALANCE PANEL

In this design, the leading edge of the aileron remains shrouded by the trailing edge of the wing
throughout its range of movement. The gap between the Te of the wing and the Le of the aileron is filled
with a panel that is hinged in three places:

1. At its junction with the trailing edge of the wing

2. At its junction with the leading edge of the aileron
3. At the mid point
This divides the shrouded area into two compartments, each of which is vented to atmosphere by the gap
between the shroud and the surface of the aileron. When the aileron is deflected, for example upward,
due to the curvature of the control surface, the gap between the up-going surface and the shroud
increases. At the same time, the gap between the down-going aileron leading edge and the lower shroud
decreases. This alters the amount of airflow into the shrouded area, resulting in a pressure increase in the
compartment above the balance panel. This difference in pressures assists movement of the controls.
Since the opposite wing mirrors this, the total effect is to reduce the stick force requiredby the pilot to
make the deflection.

 HINGE MOMENT

When a control surface is deflected, it produces an aerodynamic force, which acts in the opposite
direction to the deflection and through the surface’s centre of pressure. The hinge moment is the result of
the aerodynamic force F and the distance between the CP and the hinge line X.
Hinge moment = FX

This hinge moment acts against the pilot. It increases with airspeed and control surface deflections. This
is termed stick force, which is the force a pilot would have to exert to hold the stick in that position. It is
also referred to as feel, as the pilot feels the air loads acting on the aircraft’s controls.

􀂾 If the CP moves further aft, the hinge moment increases.

􀂾 If the CP moves forward, the hinge moment decreases.
􀂾 If the CP moves onto the hinge line, the hinge moment is zero.
􀂾 If the CP moves forward of the hinge line, the hinge moment increases and acts to move
the control in the direction of the deflection.