How Gliders Fly Part Two

Stick forward: Elevators down - Tail up - Nose down - faster.
Stick back: Elevators up - Tail down - Nose up - slower.

The drawing above shows a trim tab. This is a mini elevator which provides a function similar to a cruise control. Setting the trim correctly sets a speed at which the glider will fly if the pilot does nothing.

Moving the stick left or right operates control surfaces on the back of the wings (trailing edge) . These surfaces are called ailerons. They operate in opposite sense to each other - left up = right down, right up = left down. (You will hear this confirmed during control checks).

Moving the stick left raises the left aileron and lowers the right aileron. This forces the left wing down and the right wing up, and causes the glider to roll to the left. Exactly the opposite happens when the stick is moved to the right. Once the glider has started to roll, it will begin to turn. Left stick turns the glider left, Right stick turns the glider right.