Each control surface deflects into the airflow and creates a moment that rotates the aircraft about one of its own axes:
- Ailerons — one wing's aileron goes up while the other goes down, so one wing loses lift and the other gains it, rolling the aircraft about its longitudinal (nose-to-tail) axis.
- Elevator — a single surface at the tail; deflecting it changes the tailplane's lift and pitches the nose up or down about the lateral (wingtip-to-wingtip) axis.
- Rudder — a single surface on the vertical fin; deflecting it pushes the tail sideways, yawing the nose left or right about the vertical axis.
This 2D companion mirrors the 3D control-surface simulator's rate model: each axis rotates at a rate proportional to its own deflection (roll fastest, then pitch, then yaw), and the three silhouette views plus the attitude indicator update together so you can see the same rotation from the front, the side, from above, and on an artificial horizon.