Airplane Axes
Longitudinal Axis
Lateral Axis
Vertical Axis
Elevator
s
Ailerons
Rudder
Elevators
“Surfaces attached to the horizontal stabilizers by a
hinge that control the pitching motion of the aircraft”
Principle: Increases or reduces lift at the empennage to
pitch up or down.
Elevator Trim Tab
Bernoulli’s Principle
Stabilators
Stabilator
Stabilizer + Elevator
Servo tab
Increases effectiveness of
controls
Anti-servo tab
Provides the pilot with a
“feel” Prevents
overcontrolling
Aileron
“Control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the
wing which control the banking motion of the aircraft”
Principle: Creates differential lift between the wings
Rudder
“Control surface attached to a hinge on the vertical
stabilizer that controls the aircraft’s yawing
movement”
Rolling due to Rudder
Pure rudder usage
causes a sideslip
A sideslip causes one
wing to travel faster
than the other
Faster speed on one
wing causes more lift
to beonly
side created on one
Review!
Control Primary Effect Secondary Effect
Elevator Pitch
Aileron Roll Yaw
Rudder Yaw Roll
Throttle Pitch
Stability Defined
Behavior of Stability
Airplane axes
Types of Stability
Stability
What is stability?
The tendency of an airplane to return to its original state
after being disturbed.
The more stable the plane is, the less corrections the pilot needs to make
on the controls.
Stability and Control
Controlling an airplane –to displace it from its previous
position
If stability is too high , the pilot will need to exert more
forceto move the controls!
On the opposite end of stability, you have
Maneuverability
Static Stability
“Will it return?”
Positive –“yes”
Neutral –“no”
Negative –“no, and will go farther away”
Dynamic Stability
“How will it return?”
Positive –Damped
Neutral –Undamped
Negative –Divergent (it will never return)
Longitudinal Stability
Stability of the aircraft around/about the lateral
axis “Pitching Stability”
How does it work?
Determinants
Size of Horizontal Stabilizer
Distance of CG from Horizontal Stabilizer
Longer arm: More stability Shorter arm: Less stability
Importance to Pilots
You can’t control stabilizer size (unless you are
designing your own airplane!)
You CANcontrol CG location
Shift weight around the airplane
Have passengers exchange
seats Change the location of the
bags Shift fuel to different tanks
Throttle
Throttle
Propeller Effects
Propwashcan:
Increase control effectiveness of elevators and
rudder Cause a change in pitching moments
Make the aircraft stall at a slower speed
Lateral Stability
Stability of the aircraft around longitudinal
axis. “Rolling stability”
Wing Dihedral
The upward angle of the
Dihedral
wings from the fuselage
How dihedral works:
Based on the principle of a
difference in Angles of
Attack between
wings.
Wing Sweep
Wing Sweep
Rearward angle of
the wings
How sweep works:
Based on the principle of
differing surface areas
exposed into the relative
wind.
Directional Stability
Stability of the aircraft around/about the vertical
axis “Yawing stability”
How does it work?
Vertical Stabilizers
Keel Effect
Lateral + Directional Stability
Conflicts!
Roll Followed by Yaw (strong directional stability)
Spiral Instability
Yaw Followed by Roll (strong lateral stability)
Dutch Roll
Review
Stability
On/Along vs. Around and About
Types of Stability
Longitudinal Stability
Lateral Stability
Directional Stability
Spins
Both Wings are Stalled
Occurs when one wing stalls ahead of the
other. Airplane Autorolls
Airplane Autoyaws
CG Location changes spin type
CG too far forward
CG too far aft of limits
Left Turning Tendencies
Torque
Asymmetric Thrust
Spiraling Slipstream
Gyroscopic Precession
Climbs
Zoom Climb: Speed is lost as altitude is gained
Steady Climb: Speed is maintained as altitude is gained.
Where does this extra energy come from? Excess thrust –is
what makes an airplane climb!
60 kts
90 kts
80 kts 90 kts
100 kts 90 kts
Zoom Climb Steady Climb
Forces in a climb
Excess Thrust is what makes an airplane
climb! Equilibrium
Direction of Flight
component force
Descents
Descent with power
Descent without power = GLIDE
90 kts
90 kts
90 kts
90 kts
Descent with power Descent without power
Forces in a Descent & Glide
Equilibrium
Descent with power Descent without power
component force
Glide Ratio :
distance an airplane will travel forward with out power
in relation to altitude loss
Glide Angle
Glide Angle: Angle between Actual flight path and
horizon.
Shallow Glide Angle Steep Glide Angle
What Affects Glide Angle?
Airspeed
What Affects Glide Angle?
Flap Setting
What does NOT affect Glide Angle?
Weight
A heavy airplane will travel the same
distance. It will just reach the ground faster.
Glide Distance
Glide Distance: actual distance travelled because of
the effect of wind
Glide distance is increased when flying with the wind
on your back.
wind
Glide Distance
Glide distance is decreased when flying against
the wind.
Importance to Pilots
Knowing how to control glide angle properly makes your
flights both safer and smoother.
Always fly at L/Dmax, if you want to travel the farthest
distance!
In an emergency situation, resist the temptation to pull up to
increase distance travelled!
If however, you find that you need to lose more altitude than
gain distance, then Don’t fly at L/Dmax–fly slower or
faster.(Slower is better )
Always check the wind
How to turn an airplane
Remember the 3 B’s
B-ank
B-alance
B-ackpressure
Turns
TheHorizontal
Process ofComponent
turning: of Lift (HCL)
Loss of Lift
Centrifugal
Forces (G’s)
Reaction to creation of HCL
Adds perceived weight
Load Factor
Formula: Perceived/actual wt
How much are you banking?
Angle of Bank (AOB)
Angle of wings relative to the horizon
Adverse Yaw
“Yaw produced on the upgoingwing that yaws
the aircraft’s nose AWAY from the turn”
Rate and Radius of Turn
Rate of Turn = How many degrees per second?
Radius of Turn = How wide is the turn?
Both vary by a combination of Bank Angle and Airspeed
Rate of Turn
High Airspeed, Low Rate of Turn
High Bank Angle, High Rate of Turn
Radius of Turn
High Airspeed, High radius of turn
High Bank Angle, Low Radius of turn
Importance to Pilots
Minimizing the radius of turn can help you avoid
obstacles in your flight path.
Minimizing the radius of turn can help you circle over
a small area.
Coordinated turns minimize form drag!
A skid or a slip increases form drag, and can be used to
your advantage when you need drag.
Load Factor :
Ratio of the load supported by the airplane wings to
the actual weight of the aircraft
Positive g : Feel Heavier and negative g = fell Lighter
Load Factor Changes Stall Speed
Angle of Bank Stall Speed
(VS1, C152)
0 48
30 55
60 68
80 117
