A brief history of the invention of the control stick
03.11.2025
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The center stick is a part of an aircraft's flight control system and is typically linked to its ailerons and elevators, or alternatively to its elevons, by control rods or control cables on basic aircraft. On heavier, faster, more advanced aircraft the center stick may also control power-assist modules. Modern aircraft center sticks are also usually equipped with a number of electrical control switches within easy finger reach, in order to reduce the pilot's workload.
The center stick originated at the turn of the twentieth century. In 1900, Wilhelm Kress of Austria developed a control stick for aircraft, but did not apply for a patent. Instead, a patent was awarded to the French aviator, Robert Esnault-Pelterie who applied for it in 1907.
Robert Esnault-Pelterie made the first airplane flight with a control stick; he used a single, broom handle-like lever.
Born on 8 November 1881, Robert Esnault-Pelterie was a French aircraft designer and spaceflight theorist. He is referred to as being one of the founders of modern rocketry and astronautics, along with the Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the German Hermann Oberth, and the American Robert H. Goddard.
Educated at the Faculté des Sciences, he studied engineering at the Sorbonne and served in World War I and was made an Officier de la Légion d'Honneur.
His first experiments in aviation were based on the Wright brothers 1902 glider. In 1906, he began his first experiments in towed flight. On 19 September 1906 he flew 500 m (1,600 ft). He made his first powered flight on 10 October 1907, a distance of 100 m (330 ft) with the REP 1. This was driven by a seven-cylinder, 30 hp air-cooled engine of his own design.
Following the war, Esnault-Pelterie was involved in litigation over his joystick patent. Many aircraft built during the war had used this design and the aircraft companies owed him royalties. The damages he won and subsequent royalties made him a wealthy man. This also allowed him to repay his father's significant investment.
He died on 6 December 1957 in Nice, France.
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