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Questions tagged [flight-dynamics]

Flight dynamics is the study of the physics driving the performance, stability, and control of aircraft. It is concerned with how forces acting on the aircraft influence its speed, altitude and attitude with respect to time.

10 votes
3 answers
4k views

Can we see evidence of "crabbing" when viewing contrails?

Can we see evidence of "crabbing" when viewing an aircraft leaving a contrail? Such as, in the form of an angular misalignment between the longitudinal axis of the aircraft (i.e. the ...
quiet flyer's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
332 views

Why would a ram air parachute need less brake input to stall at a higher altitude?

I have some anecdotal evidence that a ram air sport parachute requires less toggle input to stall at higher altitudes. A pilot needed one wrap of the brake lines around the hands to quickly, ...
Oleg Pryadko's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
88 views

How do hybrid control surfaces work?

I am trying to build a self-stabilized model rocket with actuated fins. Suppose the rocket has 4 fins. The diagonal fins must rotate together to control the yaw/pitch motion, and all the fins are ...
Leo Liu's user avatar
  • 103
0 votes
2 answers
176 views

How would IAS change with altitude for an unpowered parafoil?

Suppose an unpowered parafoil (e.g. a ram air parachute or paraglider) is descending (gliding) in a standard atmosphere. Suppose a pitot tube is positioned to always point into the relative wind (e.g. ...
Oleg Pryadko's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
438 views

How to compute final aircraft attitude, if we know starting attitude and degrees of rotation around each axis? (Specific example)

I'm flying due north (000 degrees heading), with bank angle of 0 degrees and a pitch attitude of 0 degrees. I roll the airplane 30 degrees to the right, rotating only around the aircraft's roll axis (...
quiet flyer's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
213 views

Would twin-engine airplanes be safer (in case of engine failure) if had minimal dihedral?

In the specific context of the sudden failure of one engine, would twin-engine airplanes (with wing-mounted engines) be safer if designed with minimal dihedral, so that aerodynamic coupling between ...
quiet flyer's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
65 views

Moment required for disk tilt Cierva Autogyro?

The first prototypes of the Cierva autogyro used a disk tilt mechanism rahter than cyclic pitch by means of a swashplate to achieve roll and pitch (DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.19168.94729). Let's first ...
lWindy's user avatar
  • 301
1 vote
2 answers
317 views

Am I slipping or am I skidding?

I'm in a shallow left bank, maybe 15 degrees. Right rudder pedal is all the way to the floor. Flight path is curving toward the right. Ball is far to the left corner of the glass tube. Yaw string1, ...
quiet flyer's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
551 views

What causes a jet airliner (with a yaw damper) to roll toward the "weaker" engine during an asymmetrical thrust condition?

Please help me better understand what causes a jet airliner (such as the Boeing 737-500) to roll toward the "weaker" engine when power is reduced on one side. Such as in the situations ...
quiet flyer's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
452 views

Why should the leading edge of the horizontal tail be lower than the trailing edge? [duplicate]

As mentioned in this answer: https://drones.stackexchange.com/a/2564/5088 The leading edge of the tail should be lower than its trailing edge, providing some "down force" in flight. I am ...
The Rocket fan's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
495 views

What causes a slip/skid turn? [duplicate]

Is the rate of turn being too low/high for a given bank angle the cause of slip/skid turn? Or is it yawing too much inside/outside turn causing an imbalance in centripetal/fugal force and thus the ...
guy katz's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
151 views

Causes of yaw in slip/skid turn [closed]

Why does the plane yaw when the rate of turn is not suitable to bank angle in a turn? In a slipping/skidding turn, there is an imbalance of centripetal/ centrifugal force. How does that cause a yaw?
guy katz's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
680 views

Why does increasing speed in a turn not change load factor?

From what I've read, load factor (n) is the forces of lift (F) divided by weight (W), so the equation would be n=F/W. In a question about a constant bank angle turn, an increase in airspeed will ...
thunderstormies's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
596 views

Would an S-92 / CH-148 (or any helicopter) be able to land successfully after rolling over and eating someone with its main rotor in flight?

In the SCP Foundation story "Over/",1 the protagonist and his fiancée get kidnapped by some terrorists looking for information, who eventually throw the two of them out of a CH-148 (with ...
Vikki's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
136 views

Does the reduced aerodynamic damping at higher altitudes affect the Vno (maneuvering speed) of an airplane?

Since reduced aerodynamic damping at higher altitudes reduces the needed control input for maneuvers, is this just about the required force to move the controls or also about the speed of the ...
Erik Stens's user avatar

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