Remove Center of Gravity Remove Rudder 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 aircraft may still have a fuselage and a vertical tail (fin and rudder). How does the tail do this? Lets find out.

Tail 52
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

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

Everything You Need To Know About Ailerons

Pilot Institute

Adverse yaw is a side effect of aileron use, countered by rudder input. What Is Aircraft Stability? Stability is the aircrafts tendency to maintain its attitude or orientation. This means that they have to be effective enough to counter the aircrafts inherent lateral stability. This is where the rudder comes in.

Aileron 90
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. Rudder: Full opposite input to the spin direction.

article thumbnail

The Role of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation

Pilot Institute

The aircraft pivots about its center of gravity. Rudder The rudder is the panel on the vertical part of the aircrafts tail. This is where the rudder comes in. If you press the left pedal, the rudder turns to the left. Oncoming airflow hits the protruding rudder and deflects to the left ( action ).

Lift 52
article thumbnail

What Is a Dutch Roll, and Is It Dangerous?

Pilot Institute

How an aircraft handles Dutch roll depends on its dynamic stability. The aircraft’s design influences its dynamic stability. To understand the aircraft’s response to a disturbance, you need to understand aerodynamic stability. There are two main types of stability: Static and Dynamic stability.