What is Airplane’s Longitudinal Axis?
Longitudinal axis of an airplane is an imaginary line that extends lengthwise through the fuselage from the nose to the tail. Movement of the airplane around the longitudinal axis is known as “roll” ans is controlled by the movement of the ailerons. To move the ailerons, the pilot turns the control either clockwise or counter clockwise (or the control stick either right or left). This action lowers the aileron on one wing and raises the aileron on the other. The aileron that is deflected downwards increases the lift of the wing and thus the wing rises. The aileron that is deflected upwards decreases the lift of the wing and thus the wing descends. This movement occurs during turns.
