Flaps and Slats of the wings of a plane.
Whilst in mid-flight a Boeing 747 cruises at a flight of 885 km/h, but when it takes off it is only going a speed of 290km/h. To makes the wings better serve the aircraft the pilot takes control of the wings via flaps and slats. During takeoff and landing the flaps (as seen in figure 9 below on the trailing edge of the wings) extended downwards allowing the wing to divert more air by increasing the camber or curvature of the wing. This increase of curvature also increases drag which is why they are retracted when not needed and deployed during landing to reduce the plane ‘s velocity. The slats on the leading edge of the wind can be deployed by the pilot to increase the angle of attack. The angle of attack is the angle which the airfoil presents to oncoming air. The greater this angle, the more lift can be generated as the wing is diverting more air.
Figure 9- Flaps and Slats
Another type of varied flap which is used for aerial navigation are the ailerons, which are horizontal flaps on the end of a plane’s wings. Ailerons are used to control the rolling motion of a plane. By lowering the left aileron and raising the right aileron a plane is able to generate more lift on the left which results in the plane rolling to the right as seen in figure 11.5. The planes move in the direction of the aileron which is raised as the other side is lowered, producing more lift than the other, pushing the plane in the direction of the raised aileron. The lowered aileron produces more lift because the air moving over it is going at a higher velocity than the raised wing, increasing the pressure differential and therefore the amount of lift that can be generated. It is this increased lift which allows the plane to roll.