Do the different spoilers on an A321 extend by different amounts?

Question

I recently flew with an A321 and watched the left wing while the pilot tested the control surfaces before lift off. I noticed that one of the spoilers angled upwards much less than all others. In the drawing below, it was spoiler number 3 (labelled as an "air brake" [sic]). The pilot extended them twice, and the behaviour was the same each time.

Questions are closed as duplicate when it's the same question: "do" is very different from "why", and the answers are very different. I voted to reopen. — , Apr 07 '22 at 10:04
The answer for "do they do X" is certainly provided when the answer to "why do they do X" confirms that X happens as introduction to explaining why. I see no value in reopening, particularly since the OP found the duplicate thread to be useful. — Ralph J, Apr 07 '22 at 13:24
@RalphJ: To avoid a discussion here, now on meta: Why is this A321 spoilers question closed as a duplicate? — , Apr 07 '22 at 15:05

score 1 · Accepted Answer · 2021-09-08T03:58:01.680

A321's flight controls check via YouTube

They indeed do on the A321. To be precise, what you saw happens during the roll function (banking left/right), not the slowing down and spoiling lift functions. Here's an extract from the A321's flight manual:

ROLL CONTROL

[...]

The maximum deflection of the spoilers is:

35 ° for spoilers 2, 4, and 5

7 ° for spoilers 3.

And compare with the A320:

ROLL CONTROL

[...]

The maximum deflection of the spoilers is 35 °.

For the difference: Why is there a difference in the max spoilers extension between the A320 and A321 in a roll?

Note: both do not use spoiler 1 for rolling.

Do the different spoilers on an A321 extend by different amounts?

1 Answers1