control stick
1
5.0
- noun
- /kənˈtroʊl stɪk/
- Specialized
:
palanca de control
- As turbulence hit, he tightened his grip on the control stick to stabilize the aircraft.
- control stick and throttle
- hand on the control stick
Examples
-
The king pushed the control stick forward, and we heaved off the ground, hovering low over the palace and Amman's dense honeycomb of flat-roofed houses.
Academic text (2000) -
The bomber used small sidestick controllers, like a fighter plane, with throttle quadrants to the left of each seat and the button-festooned control stick to the right.
Fiction book (1991) -
You only had to blow on the control stick and it seemed to do what you wanted.
-
Cahill, at his station, is looking through a viewer while grasping a control stick in one hand.
Fiction book (1996) -
He waggled the control stick, making the buggy veer left, then right.
Fiction book (1994) -
He was getting very adept at using his left index finger to move or change displays while his right hand worked a keyboard or hit the voice-command button mounted on the control stick on the side instrument panel.
Fiction book (1991) -
NASA 507, a certified Lancair Columbia 300 general aviation aircraft, has state-of-the-art avionics, a color moving map/GPS, and a side-arm control stick.
Academic text (2001) -
The pilot expertly maneuvered the plane by adjusting the control stick to the right and left.
-
Before takeoff, the instructor demonstrated how to hold the control stick properly.
Synonyms
686
1.0
A long thin object often made of wood used as a simple tool or support
13
3.4
A stick you move by hand to control a machine like a computer or plane
A control stick at the side of a pilot's seat used to move the plane
How Complex
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a lever used to control an aircraft' is directly derivable from combining 'control' (to regulate or operate) with 'stick' (a rod or handle): a stick used for control. This is a straightforward noun–noun compound following common compositional patterns (and similar constructions exist in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the basic meaning.
Etymology
Control stick comes from a simple image: a pilot holding a long stick that gives them control of the plane. Moving the stick forward, back, or side to side makes the plane go up and down or turn, so it literally 'steers the plane'.