Rudder Stability Weight-Shift-Control 
Aerotime
APRIL 3, 2025
Largely gone are the days when pilots had to manually control their aircraft from engine start-up to shut down by keeping their hands rigidly fixed on the controls at all times. As a result, the first autopilot was developed to introduce an element of control on the trajectory of airplanes. What is an autopilot?
Pilot Institute
JUNE 4, 2025
How does it turn or climb without the usual control surfaces? Despite their lack of horizontal control surfaces, tailless aircraft are designed to be stable. A tailless aircraft is a fixed-wing airplane without a horizontal stabilizing surface. A tailless aircraft may still have a fuselage and a vertical tail (fin and rudder).
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Plane and Pilot
MAY 3, 2025
Lets go back to that time in postwar GA when the sands shifted quickly. The Ercoupe was designed with only two controls, roll and pitch, so it couldnt be kicked out in a crosswindit had to withstand landing in a crab. Thorp joined the Piper design team during the Cherokees development; his own Sky Scooter used a stabilator.
Pilot Institute
FEBRUARY 20, 2025
These control surfaces dictate the aircraft’s roll, and this allows it to bank smoothly through turns or even recover from turbulence. Have you ever wondered how pilots keep control at high speeds, during stalls, or even when systems fail? Key Takeaways Ailerons control the aircrafts roll by adjusting lift on each wing.
Pilot Institute
JULY 12, 2024
Watch out for some common mistakes, such as over-controlling and reacting incorrectly to visual cues. The easiest way to achieve this is by flying a stabilized approach. So, what is a stabilized approach? A stabilized approach requires the pilot to establish and maintain a constant angle glidepath towards an aiming point.
Vintage Aviation News
OCTOBER 19, 2024
Tasked with creating an aircraft that could meet the Navy’s evolving and often shifting requirements, Petty and his team faced an uphill battle. The wings were metal structures covered with fabric, a common practice that balanced strength and weight considerations. Leading the design team was British engineer G.
Pilot Institute
MAY 4, 2024
Aircraft Weight and Limitations An aircraft’s weight affects inertia and stopping distance. The POH lists landing distances for specific gross weights. Smaller aircraft may only have short field landing distances for maximum gross weight. This gives you a safe buffer on the stall speed and plenty of time to stabilize.
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