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Aviation glossary

Aileron

Also: ailerons, roll control surface

The aircraft

Movable surface near each wingtip; deflected in opposite directions on the two wings, the ailerons roll the aircraft about its longitudinal axis.

What it is

Ailerons control roll, the aircraft's sideways bank. When the pilot turns the control wheel or moves the stick to one side, the aileron on that wing rises and the other goes down: one wing loses lift, the other gains it, and the aircraft banks. Banking is what makes an aeroplane turn, because it tilts the lift towards the inside of the turn.

Some wide-bodies, such as the Boeing 747, have outboard ailerons that work only at low speed and inboard ones that operate throughout the flight, because at high speed an aileron near the tip could twist the wing and lose effectiveness. Spoilers usually assist the ailerons in roll, and on fly-by-wire aircraft the flight control computers share the command between them.

On Vuelopedia

Boeing 747

Related terms

SpoilerHinged panel on the upper wing surface that rises to spoil lift and add drag, helping the aircraft descend, slow down or roll. RudderMovable surface hinged to the back of the fin that swings the nose left or right, controlling the aircraft in yaw. ElevatorMovable surface on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabiliser that raises or lowers the nose, controlling the aircraft's pitch attitude. Fly-by-wireFlight control system in which the pilot's inputs travel as electrical signals to computers that move the control surfaces. WingSurface that generates the lift needed for flight; on airliners it usually also holds much of the fuel and carries the engines.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Aileron. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/aileron

MLA

“Aileron.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/aileron. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Aileron.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/aileron.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Aileron. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/aileron (Accessed: 20 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_aileron,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Aileron}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/aileron},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/aileron}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-20},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/aileron |title=Aileron |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-20 |language=en}}

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