Definition
The devices in an aircraft cockpit that the pilot moves to direct the aircraft's flight path, engine output, and aircraft systems. Primary flight controls (control yoke or stick, rudder pedals) move the ailerons, elevator, and rudder to control the aircraft about its three axes. Secondary controls operate flaps, trim, throttle, mixture, propeller pitch, and other systems.
Plain English
The handles, levers, pedals, and switches the pilot uses to fly the aircraft and operate its systems.
Context Anchor
Seen in preflight checks, cockpit instructions, aircraft handling descriptions, and system operation procedures.
Derivation
Control comes from an old word meaning to check or direct something. That helps here because aircraft controls are the things the pilot uses to direct the airplane and keep its actions in check.
Why Pilots Care
Knowing exactly which control affects which surface or system is the foundation of all flying. A pilot who confuses primary and secondary controls, or misunderstands what a given lever does, cannot fly safely.
Intuition Check
Do not read controls as just meaning “being in charge.” In aviation, controls usually means the actual cockpit devices the pilot moves to make the aircraft or its systems respond.
Example Sentence 1
Before starting the engine, the pilot moved the controls through their full range of motion to confirm they were free and correct.
Example Sentence 2
With the instructor's hands lightly on the controls, the student practiced coordinating aileron and rudder inputs through a gentle turn.