Primary controls

Generally the primary cockpit controls are arranged as follows:

• A control column or a control yoke attached to a column—for roll and pitch, which moves the ailerons when turned or deflected left and right, and moves the elevators when moved backwards or forwards
• Rudder pedals to control yaw, which move the rudder; left foot forward will move the rudder left for instance.
• Throttle controls to control engine speed or thrust for powered aircraft.

The image shows the basic principles and the correct sense of movement of the primary controls, also illustrating a simple mechanical primary flying control system.

Even when an aircraft uses different kinds of surfaces, such as a V-tail/ruddervator, flaperons, or elevons, to avoid pilot confusion the aircraft will still normally be designed so that the yoke or stick controls pitch and roll in the conventional way, as will the rudder pedals for yaw.

Secondary controls

In addition to the primary flight controls for roll, pitch, and yaw, there are often secondary controls available to give the pilot finer control over flight or to ease the workload. The most commonly-available control is a wheel or other device to control elevator trim, so that the pilot does not have to maintain constant backward or forward pressure to hold a specific pitch attitude (other types of trim, for rudder and ailerons, are common on larger aircraft but may also appear on smaller ones). Many aircraft have wing flaps, controlled by a switch or a mechanical lever, which alter the shape of the wing for improved control at the slower speeds used for takeoff and landing. Other secondary flight control systems may be available, including slats, spoilers, air brakes and variable-sweep wings.