Parts of an Airplane Cockpit

Control Yoke

• The control yoke is the airplane's steering mechanism and the equivalent of car's steering wheel. However, unlike a car, which can only move right, left, forward and back, an airplane also can also move up and down. The control yoke can be turned to steer the plane left or right. It can also be pulled to move the nose of the plane up and pushed to move the nose of the plane down.

Rudder Pedals

• The rudder pedals in the cockpit are connected to the plane's rudder, which is responsible for the horizontal movement of the nose of the airplane. This movement is also called yaw and is done to make minor adjustments to the direction a plane is traveling. Pushing on the right rudder pedal causes the nose of the plane to move to the right, while pushing the left rudder pedal will move the nose of the plane to the left.

Instrument Panel

• An airplane's instrument panel is similar to a car's dashboard. There are numerous displays and gauges on the instrument panel that inform the pilot about the plane's performance, such as the altimeter, which indicates the altitude at which the plane is flying, the transponder, which sends and receives radar signals so that a ground controller can track the airplane's flight pattern, and the attitude indicator. A plane's attitude is its position relative to the horizon, and the attitude indicator can be useful when the pilot is unable to see clearly through the windshield. The instrument panel can also have an airspeed indicator to show how fast the plane is flying and a vertical-speed indicator to show the rate at which the plane is climbing or descending in feet per minute.

Throttle Levers

• Pilots control the amount of fuel that goes to an airplane's engine by operating the throttle levers in the cockpit. The throttle allows the plane to make rapid power changes, which can be necessary during takeoff and landing. An open or full throttle moves the pitch, or vertical movement, of the plane's nose up and gives the engine the fuel and the plane the acceleration needed for takeoff. Reducing the power to the engine moves the pitch of airplane's nose down.