Elevon

The original production variant of the Vulcan, designated as the B.1, did not have any elevons present; instead, it used an arrangement of four inboard elevators and four outboard ailerons along its delta wing for flight control.

[3] Another early aircraft to use elevons was the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, an interceptor operated by the United States Air Force.

[6] The Space Shuttle Orbiter was furnished with elevons, although these were only operable during atmospheric flight, which would be encountered during the vehicle's controlled descent back to Earth.

[7] The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, a large flying wing operated by the United States Air Force as a strategic stealth bomber, also used elevons in its control system.

[11] Several technology research and development efforts exist to integrate the functions of aircraft flight control systems such as ailerons, elevators, elevons and flaps into wings to perform the aerodynamic purpose with the advantages of less: mass, cost, drag, inertia (for faster, stronger control response), complexity (mechanically simpler, fewer moving parts or surfaces, less maintenance), and radar cross section for stealth.

However, the main drawback is that when the elevons move up in unison to raise the pitch of the aircraft, generating additional lift, they reduce the camber, or downward curvature of the wing.

[12][13][14] In fluidics, forces in vehicles occur via circulation control, in which larger more complex mechanical parts are replaced by smaller simpler fluidic systems (slots which emit air flows) where larger forces in fluids are diverted by smaller jets or flows of fluid intermittently, to change the direction of vehicles.