I found these images of little flaps-like control surfaces on what I believe to be older DC-10s, anyone got an idea of what exact model of the DC-10 that they were installed on? ...and what kind of purpose they serve?
Thanks in advance.
Here's some images.
BTW, if you don't know what these are, refrain from commenting nonsense. Thanks.
Maybe for maintenance?
My guess would be air breaks
@Dllama4 @Flightsonic I googled it for a solid 20 minutes. Gave up after that.
That honestly makes sense. As the only pics i see when those little things deployed are pics which the aircraft is undergoing some sort maintenance.
lol @Flightsonic
@Dllama4 I didn't even notice that you mentioned that before me haha, I still like my time-out theory better
lol. I’m making myself sound like an expert. I literally did 5 minutes of research to find the answer.
Yes, that is correct. It is to make access to the second engine easier when performing maintenance. @Flightsonic
That's where they put you if you're being naughty.
Jokes aside, maybe something to do with engine maintenance, or hydraulics
Slaps? xD @WaffleCakes
Part of control surface or slaps?
So apparently, when the aircraft needs maintenance, a portion of the rear Inboard elevators can be unlatched to gain better access to the rear part of the aircraft. The DC-10 doesn’t have any trim tabs as the whole horizontal stabilizers move instead, and the air brakes air placed on the main Wings. @BaconAircraft
Laser shields.
I think it’s an airbrake but it can also be a part of the elevons
It's an Elevon
Honestly, that sounds about right. From what I've learned with RC model aircraft (especially pusher designs), in the case of a COT too far back, inducing roll on the main wing would either cause the nose to rise or dip down significantly depending on the angle of attack. E.g. if the plane is descending at a 3 degree slope, rolling causes some weird behaviors to the pitch of the aircraft, mostly causing the nose to rise significantly. ...but that's RC, not sure if it's the same reasoning behind the DC-10.
@BaconAircraft my guess is that because the COT is well behind the wings, that they wanted to spread out where the center of force (from rolling) was being generated, or they did it to reduce the twisting stress on the fuselage that would occur if they only had control surfaces on the wings. I don't really know though, just speculation.
@BaconAircraft
I Suggest Airbrakes
@Gestour My concern is if the control surfaces are so small and inboard, what other effective purposes can it serve besides pitch? It seems unpractical for it to roll the aircraft.
@BaconAircraft I have no clue why they are there on the DC-10. Probably something to do with the engine, COT... who knows?
@Gestour Any idea why they decided to put an elevon on the tail? Is it due to stability issues caused by the engine mounted on the empennage?
Erm.... me?
@BaconAircraft
Airbrakes maybe?
Elevon.
Link
@Awsomur Why would ANYONE in their right mind put mudflaps there?
Mudflaps?