Pull back on the yoke and the nose rises. Push forward and it drops. That pitch control comes from the elevator, a hinged surface on the horizontal stabilizer at the rear of the aircraft.

Moving the elevator changes the tail's lift. Deflecting it upward pushes the tail down and raises the nose. Deflecting it downward lifts the tail and lowers the nose. The wing does the lifting, but the tail decides the angle.

Variations in design

• Conventional elevators on the horizontal stabilizer
• Stabilators that move the entire tail surface
• Elevons combining pitch and roll on tailless aircraft
• Canards at the front acting in a similar role

Control authority drops at low speed and high altitude. Designers size the elevator to remain effective at the slowest approach speed with the aircraft fully loaded.