A rudder pedal is a foot-operated
aircraft flight control interface
Interface or interfacing may refer to:
Academic journals
* ''Interface'' (journal), by the Electrochemical Society
* '' Interface, Journal of Applied Linguistics'', now merged with ''ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics''
* '' Inter ...
for controlling the
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
of an
aircraft
An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
. The usual set-up in modern aircraft is that each pilot has a pedal set consisting of a pair of pedals, with one pedal for each foot. Each right and left pedal works together so that one pedal pops out when the other is depressed, and convention is that the rudder rotates in the same direction as the arm connecting the two rudder pedals. For example, if a pilot presses the left rudder pedal forward, rotating the arm clockwise, the rudder will also rotate clockwise, deflecting airflow at the tail to the left and yawing the plane to the left. Similarly, if the pilot presses the right rudder pedal forward, the plane will yaw to the right (cf.
"tiller orders").
In aircraft with
duplicate
Duplication, duplicate, and duplicator may refer to:
Biology and genetics
* Gene duplication, a process which can result in free mutation
* Chromosomal duplication, which can cause Bloom and Rett syndrome
* Polyploidy, a phenomenon also known ...
control systems (such as
trainer aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...
,
transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes:
* Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlines, intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service
* Cargo aircraft or freighters, fix ...
and
airliners
An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest o ...
), for example with
fly-by-wire
Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional aircraft flight control system#Hydro-mechanical, manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic sig ...
, the pedal sets of both pilots are linked together so that the other pilot can seamlessly take over. On most modern aircraft, the wheel brakes are activated by pressing down on the top of the rudder pedals,
such brakes are therefore called ''toe brakes''. In order for pilots of different heights to have an ergonomic sitting position, the position of some pedal sets can be adjusted.
See also
*
Autobrake
An autobrake is a type of automatic wheel-based hydraulic brake system for advanced airplanes. The autobrake is normally enabled during takeoff and landing procedures, when the aircraft's longitudinal deceleration system can be handled by the auto ...
, automatic wheel-based hydraulic brake system for airplanes
*
Simulator pedals, used in flight simulators
*
Tiller
A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...
, a lever used to steer a vehicle without a wheel
References
{{Aircraft components
Aircraft components