Aerotime

APRIL 3, 2025

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.

Weight-Shift-Control 298

Weight-Shift-Control Cockpit Pilot Stability 298

Pilot Institute

JUNE 4, 2025

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.

Tail 52

Tail Airplanes Weight-Shift-Control Drag 52

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

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?

Aileron 90

Aileron Weight-Shift-Control Rudder Longitudinal Axis 90

Plane and Pilot

MAY 3, 2025

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.

Approach 73

Approach Airplanes Stability Weight-Shift-Control 73

Vintage Aviation News

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

(Wright State University) The original configuration of the Bell Model 68 was an open cockpit all-metal monoplane with fixed landing gear that was powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojet engines with thrust deflectors located at the aircraft’s center of gravity.

Thrust 82

Thrust Center of Gravity Descent Aileron 82

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

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?

Center of Gravity 98

Center of Gravity Weight-Shift-Control Aileron Rudder 98

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

Additional Dangers of Ice Accumulation Icing also makes your aircraft heavier and can even change the position of the center of gravity. It most commonly forms on the leading edges of your aircraft, including the wings, tail, and horizontal stabilizer, as well as on the propeller blades and pitot tubes.

Pitot Tube 52

Pitot Tube Drag Lift Airfoil 52