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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/cap-elevators-pitch

Which control surfaces control an airplane's pitch, its nose-up and nose-down motion?

Elevators, usually on the horizontal tail.

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  1. Elevators ✔
  2. Ailerons
  3. Rudder

Why: Pulling back on the control moves the elevators and raises the nose. Pushing forward lowers the nose. This changes how the wing meets the air.

Huh, didn't know that: Pitch is motion about the lateral axis, which runs wingtip to wingtip.

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We don't know where we'll go after this trip. We're just going to wing it.
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References

Answer: Elevators. Pulling back on the control moves the elevators and raises the nose. Pushing forward lowers the nose. This changes how the wing meets the air.

  1. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 5 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/07_phak_ch5_0.pdf
    pitch is controlled by the elevators
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 5 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/07_phak_ch5_0.pdf
    the axis that passes parallel to a line from wingtip to wingtip is the lateral axis
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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