Remove Center of Gravity Remove Stability Remove Tail
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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.

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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

Have you ever seen an airplane with no tail and no vertical fin, but with just a sleek wing? They prove that with the right aerodynamic tricks, you dont need a tail to fly. A tailless aircraft is a fixed-wing airplane without a horizontal stabilizing surface. Directional (yawing) stability from the vertical stabilizer.

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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.

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Everything You Need To Know About Ailerons

Pilot Institute

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. Lateral stability depends on the aircrafts design. This shifts the ailerons Center of Gravity (C.G.)

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The Role of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation

Pilot Institute

Helicopters use a small rotor mounted on the tail that produces sideways thrust to counter the main rotors torque reaction. The tail rotor pushes air to one side ( action ), and the tail moves the other way ( reaction ). Other Designs The tail rotor is not the only way to solve the torque reaction problem.

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Phugoid Motion in Aviation: What It Is and Why It Matters

Pilot Institute

Well discuss how phugoid motion relates to your aircrafts stability, what you can do to counter it, and even look at what it can do to an aircraft in severe cases. Phugoid Motion and Aircraft Stability Phugoid motion is closely related to an aircraft property called longitudinal stability. What can make an aircraft do that?

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What Is a Flat Spin?

Pilot Institute

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. Some aircraft can enter flat spins even if their center of gravity is in the normal range.