Remove Aileron Remove Center of Gravity Remove Stability
article thumbnail

Examining over 100 years of flight automation and the history of the autopilot

Aerotime

The 56 aircraft that participated in the 1914 competition presented a wide range of aviation innovations, ranging from assisted starting mechanisms, automatic carburetors, basic stabilization systems, and many other innovations that purported to benefit aviation safety.

article thumbnail

Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

A tailless aircraft is a fixed-wing airplane without a horizontal stabilizing surface. With this type of aircraft, the functions of longitudinal stability and control are incorporated into the main wing. A tailless airplane is one where everything needed to fly, like lift, control, and stability, is built into the main wing.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

Everything You Need To Know About Ailerons

Pilot Institute

At first glance, ailerons look like ordinary hinged panels on the wings, but don’t be fooledthey’re important for keeping an aircraft both stable and maneuverable. But theres much more to ailerons than just rolling left or right. Or how do modern airplanes reduce dangerous effects like aileron flutter or adverse yaw?

article thumbnail

Approachable Excellence

Plane and Pilot

To some extent this was carried out with the Cherokee, though the key design elementuse of a stabilator in place of a conventional elevator and fixed horizontal stabilizeris likely the influence of John Thorp. Thorp joined the Piper design team during the Cherokees development; his own Sky Scooter used a stabilator.

article thumbnail

The Role of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation

Pilot Institute

Lets break down the main control surfaces and how they use action-reaction: Ailerons Ailerons are flaps placed on the wings trailing edges. They work in opposite pairs: when one aileron goes up, the other goes down. The raised aileron on the right wing deflects airflow upward ( action ). It provides yaw control.

article thumbnail

What Is a Flat Spin?

Pilot Institute

PARE: Power idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite, Elevator forward. An aft center of gravity increases flat spin risk. A flat spin happens when the center of gravity shifts too far aft (toward the tail), and the aircraft’s rotation becomes more horizontal. Ailerons: Neutral. Ready to become a safer pilot?

article thumbnail

Stupid Pilot Tricks

AV Web

Inconvenienced but unstoppable, the airplanes right wing and aileron were substantially damaged, though the damage did not prohibit the airplane from being able to fly, despite the airplane feeling out of trim and a little heavier on one side. For collective and aggressive incompetence, they share Runner-up Stupid Pilot Trick of 2021.