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Chapter 6
Lecture 12
Stability & Control
• Trim- balance, means that no net moment
exists that tends to move the airplane out of
this condition.
• We think of trim as being a trim tab on a
stabilizer
• Trim in the aerodynamic sense means a lack
of pitching moment achieved by pilot
muscle or trim tab
Stability
• Stability refers to the airplane’s tendency to
return to the trimmed condition after a
disturbance.
• Stability was studied by Cayley, Chanute,
Lilienthal, Langley, & the Wright Brothers.
• Wright brothers devised the canard
configuration.
The Meaning of Stability
• Stability in general
• Figure 6-2
• Stable ball tends to return to equilibrium
position in the bottom of saucer
• Unstable ball rolls away if displaced from
equilibrium on inverted saucer
• Pilots experience instability in air masses in
the form of turbulence
Airplane Axes
• Pitch-movement about the lateral axis