Josiah,

Set driven keys will allow you to do what you want very easily.

I've made a scene file for you to disect in the hope that you'll get the idea of how to go about it. It's a lot easier this way than for me to try and explain it from scratch in writing (the file is Maya 8 format).

The circle in the rectangle will translate in x to open and close the wing and the larger circle is the main control.

If you have any questions about the set up I'll be happy to try and answer them.

Cheers,

Mat.