SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/pilot-primary-controls-axes

Which primary flight control correctly matches its airplane motion?

The ailerons control roll.

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  1. Ailerons control roll ✔
  2. Elevator controls yaw
  3. Rudder controls pitch

Why: Ailerons move oppositely to roll the airplane about its longitudinal axis. The elevator controls pitch, while the rudder controls yaw.

Huh, didn't know that: Roll is rotation around the airplane's nose-to-tail axis.

The dad joke
The ailerons opened a bakery because they already knew how to roll.
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References

Answer: Ailerons control roll. Ailerons move oppositely to roll the airplane about its longitudinal axis. The elevator controls pitch, while the rudder controls yaw.

  1. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 6 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/08_phak_ch6.pdf
    Ailerons control roll about the longitudinal axis.
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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