Originally Posted by
Hydro Junkie
Okay, time for me to make a few "corrections" on some of the clues, hope Ernie doesn't mind toooooooooo much.
- FLAPS are only on the trailing edge of the wing, SLATS are on the leading edge and can be of two different designs
- Grumman was the first(and I think only company) to use spoilers, called FLAPERONS, in their designs. In addition to the Tiger, the Intruder, Prowler, Aardvark and Tomcat all used them in their designs instead of ailerons due to the inherent inverse drag caused by ailerons
A couple of minor points. Spoilers aren't flaperons; flaperons are basically ailerons which can both be lowered at the same time as well as operating in the usual way. Spoilers used for roll control are called spoilerons. And Grumman wasn't the first manufacturer to use spoilerons for roll control; the P-61 had them, though it also had small ailerons. The reason for that arrangement was to enable the use of small ailerons so the flaps could be longer and therefore more effective.