Side-stick

"Side stick" redirects here. For other uses, see Rimshot (disambiguation).
Airbus A380 flight deck with black side-sticks on the left side of the left seat and on the right side of the right seat. The throttle controls in the central console are black, labeled 1-4.
F-16 cockpit showing side-stick

A side-stick or sidestick controller is an aircraft control stick that is located on the side console of the pilot, usually on the righthand side, or outboard on a two-seat flightdeck. Typically this is found in aircraft that are equipped with fly-by-wire control systems.[1]

The throttle controls are typically located to the left of a single pilot or centrally on a two-seat flightdeck. Only one hand is required to operate them; two handed operation is neither possible nor necessary.

  1. ^ Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition, page 463. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ISBN 1-56027-287-2