Library › Aircraft design › Control surfaces ·
Aileron
How big should ailerons be? · Standard part · basis: Design rules and figures from the cited sources; example geometry by Xem Studio
Also called: aileron size, aileron sizing rc, how big should ailerons be, aileron chord percentage, aileron throw, strip ailerons, barn door ailerons, aileron deflection, adverse yaw
Exact dimensions. True size, with no printing tolerance added.
- sizes
- 7 in table
Notes
- Ailerons on the outboard trailing edges move in opposite directions to roll the aircraft; the down-going aileron's drag yaws the nose away from the turn (adverse yaw), worst at low speed and large deflection (FAA PHAK ch.6).
- Sadraey's typical values: aileron area 5-10% of wing area, span 20-30% of wing span, chord 15-25% of wing chord, inboard edge at 60-80% semispan, max deflection about 30 deg, though he recommends keeping it under 25 deg to avoid aileron stall.
- A Cessna 182 uses 20% chord ailerons from 46% to 95% semispan with 20 deg up / 14 deg down (Sadraey Table 12.1).
- Used on: Cessna 182, Air Tractor AT-802, Gulfstream 200.
- The file is a reference example built by Xem Studio from the numbers above. Sizes the sources do not fix are illustrative; scale the example to your own vehicle.
Aileron size chart
| parameter | value or range | source |
|---|---|---|
| Sa/S | 0.05-0.10 | Sadraey ch.12 |
| ba/b | 0.20-0.30 | Sadraey ch.12 |
| Ca/C | 0.15-0.25 | Sadraey ch.12 |
| Inboard edge bai/b | 0.6-0.8 | Sadraey ch.12 |
| Max deflection | ~30 deg; keep < 25 deg up and down | Sadraey ch.12 |
| Cessna 182 | Ca/C 0.2, 0.46-0.95 semispan, 20/14 deg | Sadraey Table 12.1 |
| Reference build | chord 200, 20% aileron, 300 mm long, 20 deg | Sadraey ranges |
Where the files are
Other publishers' files are linked, not hosted. "verify" = check the license at the link before commercial use.
| FAA | Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25), Ch. 6 Flight Controls | web | Publisher's page; dimensions are facts |
| Universidad de Sevilla course files (Sadraey, Aircraft Design, Ch. 12) | Design of Control Surfaces (Aileron) | web | Publisher's page; dimensions are facts |
Free files
★ Free files 1 parts. Xem Studio design: free to use, print and sell things from; not to be republished as files. Xem Studio Design License. index.json
| aileron-wing-segment | aileron: wing segment 200 mm chord × 300 mm, 20 % chord surface deflected 20° | STEP · STL |
https://xemstudio.com/mcp to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client (free, no account, one minute) and it can look up exact sizes, mating fits and free STEP/STL from every chat.Plain text: sheet.txt · JSON: /api/geometry?object=aileron

Fits with
Questions
How much aileron throw?
Sadraey suggests keeping deflection under about 25 deg to avoid aileron stall.




