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Multiple Choice

Which three primary flight controls correspond to roll, pitch, and yaw, respectively?

The motion we’re talking about is how the airplane rotates around its three axes: roll, pitch, and yaw. Roll is a rotation about the forward‑back (longitudinal) axis and is produced primarily by the ailerons—deflecting opposite directions on each wing changes lift and tilts the airplane. Pitch is a rotation about the side-to-side (lateral) axis and is controlled by the elevators—raising or lowering the nose changes the angle of attack of the horizontal stabilizer and the aircraft’s attitude. Yaw is a rotation about the vertical axis and is controlled by the rudder—deflecting the rudder produces sideward force that turns the nose left or right. So the correct mapping is: ailerons control roll, elevators control pitch, and the rudder controls yaw. The other options misassign these surfaces, mixing up which control surface affects which axis.

The motion we’re talking about is how the airplane rotates around its three axes: roll, pitch, and yaw. Roll is a rotation about the forward‑back (longitudinal) axis and is produced primarily by the ailerons—deflecting opposite directions on each wing changes lift and tilts the airplane. Pitch is a rotation about the side-to-side (lateral) axis and is controlled by the elevators—raising or lowering the nose changes the angle of attack of the horizontal stabilizer and the aircraft’s attitude. Yaw is a rotation about the vertical axis and is controlled by the rudder—deflecting the rudder produces sideward force that turns the nose left or right.

So the correct mapping is: ailerons control roll, elevators control pitch, and the rudder controls yaw. The other options misassign these surfaces, mixing up which control surface affects which axis.