Skip to main content
Home
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Header Menu

  • Activities & Multimedia
  • Ask An Explainer
  • About the Exhibit

Section Menu

  • Forces of Flight
    • The Four Forces
    • We Aren't Built to Fly
  • Gravity & Air
    • Gravity
    • Air
    • Buoyancy
  • Aerodynamics
    • Air in Motion
    • Subsonic Wings
    • Factors Affecting Lift
    • Alternative Theories of Lift
    • Pressure Drag
    • Friction Drag
    • Vortex Drag
    • Waves in the Air
    • Shock Waves
  • Propulsion
    • Propellers
    • Engines
    • Rocket Propulsion
    • Vertical Flight
  • Structures & Materials
    • Weight and Strength
    • Materials
    • Hypersonic Vehicles
    • Shaped for Space
  • Flight Dynamics
    • Control Surfaces
    • Roll, Pitch, and Yaw
    • Instruments
    • Gravity in Orbit
    • Newton’s Laws of Motion
    • Kepler’s Laws of Orbital Motion
    • Moving in Space
    • Thrusters and Spinning Wheels
  • Activities
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Ask an Explainer

Q:

What is roll and what part of the airplane controls it?

A:

When a plane tilts back and forth along its long axis from wing tip to wing tip, we call this roll. The pilot will move ailerons (small flaps on the back of the wings) to control the airplane's roll.

Ask an Explainer
Posted on October 3, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Categories:
Flight Dynamics
Check out other Questions and Answers

Footer Menu

  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy
  • Kids Online Privacy Statement
  • Contact
  • About the Exhibition
  • Sponsors
  • Donate