A servo tab is a small hinged device installed on an aircraft control surface to assist the movement of the control surface.

Servo tabs

Servo tabs move in the opposite direction of the control surface. The tab has a leverage advantage, being located closer to the trailing edge

Trailing edge

The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge rejoins. Essential control surfaces are attached here to redirect the air flow and exert a controlling force by changing its momentum...

 of the surface and thus can lever the control surface in the opposite direction. This has the effect of reducing the control force required by the pilot to move the controls.

In the case of some aircraft the servo tab is the only control that is connected to the pilot's stick or wheel. The pilot moves the wheel which moves the servo tab and then the servo tab, using its mechanical advantage, moves the elevator or aileron, which is otherwise free-floating.

Anti-servo tabs

An anti-servo tab works in the opposite way to a servo tab. It deploys in the same direction as the control surface, making the movement of the control surface more difficult and requires more force applied to the controls by the pilot. This may seem counter-productive, but it is commonly used on aircraft where the controls are too light or the aircraft requires additional stability in that axis of movement

Flight dynamics

Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...

. The anti-servo tab serves to artificially increase stability and also make the controls heavier in feel to the pilot.

On some aircraft with all-flying stabilator

Stabilator

A stabilator is an aircraft control surface that combines the functions of an elevator and a horizontal stabilizer...

s an anti-servo tab acts as a trimming device. In this use some manufacturers term it a "balance tab" or "anti-balance tab".

External links

• The Quest for Reduced Control Forces (NASA) — Monographs in Aerospace History: William Hewitt Phillips. A thorough dissertation on the reduction of control forces in high speed and large aircraft in the '40s, with excellent links to NACA reports of the time, holding present day validity