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Aircraft and systems

Elevator

TERM · Aircraft and systems

At a glance

Meaning of Elevator

A control surface used to control aircraft pitch.

More about Elevator

The elevator is commonly located on the horizontal tail. Moving it changes the aerodynamic force on the tail and influences nose attitude.

Some aircraft use a moving tailplane or other arrangement instead. Control-surface movement, pitch attitude and the resulting flight path are related but are not identical quantities.