Stability Sunday, MarchS, 2017 10:30 AM nie as the tendency of an aircraft to remain in its position of equilibrium. is defined as the ability of the pilot to control the attitude of the aircraft by using the flight control surfaces. (Manoeuvrability is defined as the response of the aircraft to the commands of the pilot. Stability is divided into two types, Static stabilty(initial reaction of the aircraft to the disturbance) Dynamic stability(oscillations of the aircraft with respect to time) Both are again divided into positive, negative and neutral static/dynamic stability Lateral stability is about the longitudinal axis Longitudinal stability is about the lateral axis Directional stability is about the vertical axis Aerodynamic Centre ‘We know the CP moves with AOA. During our study of stability we will be considering changes in AOA together with various CG positions. To aid understanding the AC is used as a reference point of pivot. Now at an AOA of 7%; Lift( L.2) is created. This lift force acts at a distance of d.1 from the AC. This creates a pitching moment of 'M' (d.1 * L.1) at the aerodynamic center. With changes in AOA the lift varies so is the distance between CP and the AC. Regardless the pitching moment remains constant at AC. 1 2 3 * In subsonic flow the AC is at 25% aft and is stationary. The direction of pitching moment of M is nose down about the aerodynamic Centre and stays the same with change in angle pf attack. The aerodynamic Centre is the point through which the change in lift acts. ‘Aerodynamic damping:- When the aircraft is disturbed from its original position of equilibrium the surrounding atmosphere resists any such motion and tries to damp it out, itis called aerodynamic damping. fe Longitudinal dihedral angle:- The angle of incidence of the tail plane is usually less than that of the main planeto maintain a downward force. The angle between the chord line of the main plane and tail plane is called Longitudinal dihedral angle. [LONGITUDINAL DINEDRAL ANGLE (+2") MAIN PLANE. oe* * Static margin: margin. The CG is normally positioned ahead of the Neutral point. The distance between the two is called static aa romweocore neu stanc MARGIN — CENTRE OF GRAVITY NEUTRAL PONT Factors affecting Longitudinal stability 1. Position of the CG:-The further forward is the CG the greater the is the stability. However the forward position of the Centre of gravity is also limited because it gets uncontrollably nose heavy at low airspeed. The aft position of the C6 is also limited because it decreases the aircraft's stability and the stick forces. Eventually a point is reached where the aircraft has no tendency to return to its original position and continue its motion alongthe disturbed path. This is the Centre of gravity giving static neutral stability and the point is called as Nelitfal polit. 2. Position of the CP:-the Centre of pressure positioned behind the Centre of gravity has a stabilizing effect on the aircraft. The control surfaces are assumed to be fixed in and free to move in stick free static longitudinal stability. However is only applicable to manual flying control since flight control surfaces are not free to float in powered flying control. 1L. Long period oscillation(phugoid):- This involves long period of oscillation(usually 20-100secs) with noticeable change in pitch attitude, altitude and airspeed. The angle of attack remains nearly constant. 2. Short period oscillation:- This involves short period oscillation(usually 1-2 secs) when the aircraft is subjected to a vertical gust. However like phugoid oscillation this can't be corrected by the pilot and requires to be damped out by an automatic stabilizer. 3. Pilot induced oscillation :-It occurs when the pilot of an aircraft commands an increasing series of corrections each in an attempt to recover the original attitude of the aircraft. nal static sta ‘+ The directional static stability of an aircraft is its tendency to recover from a disturbance of yaw. It is mainly provided by the fin. + Yaw angle:- It is the angle that the aircraft Centre line makes with the reference azimuth. Positive yaw angle occurs when the aircraft is displaced to the right ‘+ Sideslip angle:-it is the angle between aircraft Centre line and relative airflow. Positive angle occurs when the relative air is displaced to the right. + The vertical fin is the primary source of static directional stability and is highly stabilising up to the stall. Byincorporating sweepback directional stability can be improved by reducing the aspect ratio and increasingthe stalling angle of attack, The CP also moves rearward thus increasing the yawing moment. ‘+ The dorsal fin is a forward extension of the tail fin, It delays the stall by increasing the area aft of the CG. It also decreases the aspect ratio thus increasing the stalling angle of attack. ‘+ The ventral fin is located under the vertical fin and has a positive effect on directional stability and negative effect on lateral stability ‘+ Athigh angles of attack There is a decrease in directional stability due to increase in fuselage crossflow near the fin. This is encountered by fitting strakes which re-energizes the boundary layer and stops the crossflow. Lateral static stability:- Itis the inbuilt tendency of an aircraft to recover from a disturbance in roll. This is achieved by either or a combination of three things. 1. wing dihedral 2.wing sweepback 3. Keel effect + Wing dihedral: As the aircraft sideslips the dihedral of the wing places the lower wing at an increased angle of attack whilst the upper wing has a reduced angle of attack. This restores the aircraft to the former equilibrium. ‘+ Wing sweepback:-As the aircraft sideslips the lower wing presents more of its span(known as effective span) to the airflow than the upper wing, The effective chord of the lower wing also decreases whilst that of the upper wing increases. It increases the aspect ratio of the lower wing and it produces a greater amount of lft which restores it to its former equilibrium. (page 10-23) FeaAnemnon { ere HG eRASECTRMO ROMEEUTON THsWes + Keel effect: The keel effect involves the positioning of the plane’s Centre of gravity. The Centre of gravity is the average location of all the gravitational force on an object. In simple terms, it isthe point where an object (e.g. an aero plane) balances. The keel effect means that aero planes with a Centre of gravity below the wing(low CG) are more stable than those with a Centre of gravity above the wing{high CG). In other words the larger surface area above the aircraft's Centre of gravity produces a restoring moment and the aircraft rolls back to its former wing level condition: i Only the air flowing parallel to the chord line creates lift Dutch roll:- Consider an aircraft with sweepback where the directional stability is less than its lateral stability. Ifthe aircraft is yawed to the right, the left wing advances (sideslip) and generates more lift, whilst the right wing slows down and produces less lift. The result of the imbalance in lift is to roll the aircraft in the direction of the initial yaw. ‘The lift generated by the left wing will be further increased by becoming less sweptback, as it offers a greater span to the airflow. The right wing becomes more sweptback, decreasing the effective span exposed to the airflow. This effect is similar to that of dihedral, The advancing wing also produces greater drag due to the larger areas exposed to the airflow, which causes the aircraft to yaw in the opposite direction (i.e. to the left). This results in the right wing producing more lift than the left wing, reversing the direction of the roll. The final result is an undulating, or corkscrew motion, where the rolling and yawing oscillations have the same frequency, but are out of phase with each other. ‘This is encountered by fitting a yaw damper system to the aircraft, most of the aircraft have two yaw damper system that act continually and independently of autopilot. it operates in series with the pilot input and do not result in rudder pedal movement.