AIRCRAFT STABILITY AND CONTROL

PART A
Unit 4 06 Hrs

Static Directional Stability and Control

Introduction, Definition of directional stability, Static directional stability rudder fixed,

Contribution of airframe components, Directional control. Rudder power, Stick-free directional
stability, Requirements for directional control, Rudder lock, Dorsal fin. One engine inoperative
condition. Weather cocking effect

Definition of Directional Stability

Directional or weathercock stability is concerned with the static stability of the airplane about
the z axis. Just as in the case of longitudinal stability it is desirable that the aircraft should tend
to return to an equilibrium condition when subjected to some form of yawing disturbance. For
this the slope of the yawing moment curve must be positive. An airplane possessing this mode
of stability will always point towards the relative wind, hence the name weathercock stability.

This effect is similar to that of the vane attached to the weathercock which is used to indicate
the direction of wind and is located on top of buildings in meteorological departments and near
airport. When the vane is at an angle of attack, it produces lift on itself and consequently a
moment about its hinge. This moment becomes zero only when the vane is aligned with the
wind direction. Hence, the vane is always directed in a way that the arrow points in the
direction opposite to that of the wind. The action of vertical tail on the airplane is also similar to

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that of the vane and helps in aligning the airplane axis with wind direction. This is called the
weathercock effect​.​ ​Hence, the ​directional stability is also called weathercock stability​.

Rudder deflections, wind gusts, asymmetric thrust, adverse yaw, yaw due to roll, and bank
angles in which the effective lift is less than aircraft weight can all cause sideslips. In response,
sideslips typically create both yawing and rolling moments. A stable aircraft yaws toward the
velocity vector, but rolls away. These moments interact dynamically—playing out over time,
most notably in the form of the disagreeable undulation called the Dutch roll. We cover the
associated rolling moments a bit farther on, but concentrate on yaw around the z-axis here,
pretending for the time being that it occurs in isolation.

The notation for the yawing moment coefficient is C​n (positive to the right, negative to the left).
Remember that a ​moment ​produces a rotation about a point or around an axis.

Contribution of Airframe Components to Directional Stability

Not all parts of the aircraft contribute to directional stability. The contribution of the wing to
directional stability is quite small in comparison to the fuselage, provided the angle of attack is
not large. The fuselage and engine nacelles, in general, create a destabilizing contribution to

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directional stability. In subsonic flight, the center of pressure on a fuselage in a sideslip is
usually somewhere forward of 25 percent of the fuselage length. Since the aircraft’s center of
gravity is typically aft of this point, the fuselage alone would tend to turn broadside to the
relative wind in a sideslip. Notice how the destabilizing contribution from the fuselage levels
out as β increases.

The wing fuselage contribution​ can be calculated from the following empirical expression.

where,
k​n = an empirical body-wing interference factor that is a function of the fuselage
geometry
k​Rl​ = an empirical correction factor that is a function of the fuselage Reynolds number
S​fs​ = the projected side area of the fuselage
l​s​ = the length of the fuselage
S​w​ = area of the wing
b = span of the wing

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The vertical tail contributes most to directional stability.​ The yaw moment produced by the tail
depends on the force its surface generates and on the moment arm between the tail’s center of
lift and the aircraft’s center of gravity. (Therefore, a smaller tail needs a longer arm to produce
a yaw moment equivalent to a bigger tail on a shorter arm. That being said, changing the c.g.
location for a given aircraft, ​within the envelope for longitudinal stability​, has little effect on its
directional stability.)

The rate of the increase in force generated by the tail as β increases depends on the tail’s lift
curve slope (just as the rate of increase in CL with angle of attack depends on the slope of the
lift curve of a wing). Lift curve slope is itself a function of aspect ratio. Higher aspect ratios
produce steeper slopes.

The C​nβ directional stability curve for the fuselage and tail together reaches its peak when the
tail stalls. Adding a dorsal fin increases the tail’s effectiveness (and without adding much weight
or drag). Because of its higher aspect ratio and steeper lift curve, the vertical tail produces
strong and rapidly increasing yaw moments at lower sideslip angles, but soon stalls. But the
dorsal fin, with its low aspect ratio and more gradual lift curve, goes to a higher angle of attack
before stalling, and so helps the aircraft retain directional stability at higher sideslip angles. The
dorsal fin can also generate a vortex that delays the vertical tail’s stall.

The slope of the C​nβ stability curve also tends to go down at high angles of attack as the
fuselage begins to interfere with the airflow over the tail. This is especially so with swept-wing
aircraft that require higher angles of attack to achieve high lift coefficients. Directional stability
is essential to prevent asymmetries in lift caused by sideslip that can lead one wing to stall
before the other and send the aircraft into a departure.

Propellers and Directional Stability

Propellers ahead of the aircraft center of gravity (i.e., tractor type) are directionally
destabilizing, mostly because of slipstream effects and P-factor. In this respect it is quite unlike
a jet, say, or an aircraft with counter-rotating propellers, which typically have no associated
directional trim changes. If the airplane has a pusher propeller, then the contribution is
positive and stabilizing.

Note that as an airplane slows down, asymmetrical propeller effects cause it to yaw. If the pilot
cancels the yaw rate, using rudder, while keeping the ball centered and the wings level, the
aircraft will end up in a sideslip (to the left to generate the side force required to counteract the

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usual yawing effects to the left due to a clockwise-turning propeller). Thus even a
“straight-ahead” stall at idle power has a small sideslip component that may affect its behavior.

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Contribution of vertical tail

Consider an airplane flying at a positive sideslip angle, β. The vertical tail will develop a side
force that will tend to rotate the airplane about its center of gravity.

The side force acting on the vertical tail can be expressed as:

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Directional Control

Directional control is achieved by a control surface called rudder installed on the vertical fin. By
rotating the rudder, a side force on the vertical fin can be generated to create a yawing
moment about the center of gravity. The size of the rudder is determined by the directional
control requirements. Rudder control power should be sufficient to accomplish the following
requirements.

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1. To overcome adverse yaw​: When an airplane is banked to execute a turning
manoeuvre, the ailerons may create a yawing moment that opposes the turn (i.e., adverse
yaw). The rudder must be able to overcome the adverse yaw so that a coordinated turn can be
achieved. The critical condition for adverse yaw occurs when the airplane is flying slow (i.e.,
high C​L​).

To explain the production of adverse yaw, consider an airplane rolled to right, i.e. right wing
down. Let, the rate of roll be ‘p’. The rate of roll produces the following two effects.

(a) A roll to right implies less lift on the right wing and more lift on the left wing. This is
brought about by aileron deflection – in the present case an up aileron on the right
wing and a down aileron on the left wing. Since, C​L on the right wing is less than C​L
on the left wing, the induced drag coefficient (C​Di​) on the right wing is less than C​Di
on left wing. This results in a yawing moment causing the airplane to yaw to left.

(b) Due to the rolling velocity (p) a section on the down going wing at a distance y from
the FRL experiences a relative upward wind of magnitude ‘p​y​’. At the same time a
section on the up going wing at a distance y from FRL experiences a relative
downward velocity of magnitude ‘p​y​’. This results in the change of direction of the
resultant velocity on the two wing halves. Now, the lift vector, being perpendicular
to the resultant velocity, is bent forward on the down going wing and bent
backwards on the up going wing. Consequently, the horizontal components of the
lift on the two wing halves produce a moment tending to yaw the airplane to left.

2. Crosswind landings​: An Airplane sometimes encounters side winds during take-off and
landing. ​To maintain alignment with the runway during a crosswind landing, the aircraft has to
fly at a sideslip angle. The rudder must be powerful enough to permit the pilot to trim the
airplane for the specified cross winds.

During cross wind landing, the following three points may be noted.

(a) When an airplane flying at a velocity ‘V’, encounters a side wind of velocity ‘v’, the
resultant velocity vector makes an angle Δβ to the plane of symmetry; Δβ = v/V.

(b)The tendency of an airplane possessing directional static stability is to align itself with
the wind direction (weather cock effect).

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 (c) During take-off and landing the pilot has to keep the airplane along the runway.
Hence, when a cross wind is present the airplane is side-slipping with angle Δβ.

Thus, another criterion for the design of the rudder is required. It must be able to counteract
the yawing moment due to sideslip produced by the cross wind. This criterion becomes more
critical at lower speeds because

(a) the effectiveness of the rudder, being proportional to V​2​, is less at lower flight
speeds and

(b) Δβ being proportional to 1/V, is high at low flight speeds.

As per regulations, the rudder must be able to overcome v = 51 ft / s or 15 m/s at the minimum
speed for the airplane. It may be pointed out that on a rainy day, with heavy cross winds, the
landing on the airport may be refused if the cross wind is more than that permitted for the
airplane.

3. Asymmetric power condition​: The critical asymmetric power condition occurs for
a multiengine airplane when one engine fails at low flight speeds. The rudder must be able to
overcome the yawing moment produced by the asymmetric thrust.
T

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Control of the airplane in asymmetric power condition is critical for the design of rudder in
multi-engined airplanes. The following changes take place when one of the engines of such an
airplane fails.

(a) The engine that is operating causes a yawing moment (i.e., T x y​p​)

(b) In the case of engine propeller combination the drag (D​e​) of the propeller will be
large if it is held in the stopped condition. Generally the pitch of the propeller is
adjusted so that it does wind milling. This change of pitch is called feathering of the
propeller. In this situation, the drag due to propeller is small.

(c) In the case of airplanes with jet engines, the failed engine is held in idling condition.
The drag due to the failed engine causes a yawing moment which reinforces the
yawing moment due to the operating engine. If the engine on the right wing has
failed then the yawing moment due to the operating and the failed engines would
cause a positive yawing moment.
i.e, N​e​ = ΔT x y​p
where, ΔT= thrust of live engine + drag of dead engine.

(d) The engine failure may cause a small rolling moment in the case of engine propeller
combination. The cause is as follows.
When the engines are on, a portion of the wing on the two wing halves is affected
by the propeller slip stream. This effect (of slip stream) will be absent on the wing
half with failed engine. Noting that the slip stream has a higher dynamic pressure, it
is evident that when the engine on the right wing fails, the lift on it (right wing) will
be slightly lower than that on the left wing. Then the airplane would experience
positive (right wing down) rolling moment. The rolling moment coefficient due to
engine failure can be denoted by C′​le​.

(e) In the case of the engine failure on the right wing, C​ne and C′​le would both be
positive. These cause the airplane to have a positive rate of yaw (turning to right)
and positive rate of roll (right wing down). Consequently, the airplane sideslips
towards the live engine (β < 0) and banks towards the dead engine (φ > 0). The
sideslip and the roll rate tend to increase the angle of bank. If aileron is used to
reduce the bank, it may cause more sideslip due to the effect of adverse yaw. Hence,
the usual practice is to counter the yawing motion by appropriate rudder deflection.
Then, the ailerons are deflected to reduce the angle of bank which had developed in
the meanwhile.

4. Spin Recovery​: Spin is a flight condition in which the airplane wings are stalled
and it moves downward rapidly along a helical path. The only control that is still effective is the
rudder. The way to come out of the spin is to stop the rotation, go into a dive and pull out. The
rudder must be powerful enough to get the airplane out of spin.

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or

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Pedal-Fixed (Stick-Fixed) Static Stability

In the analysis of directional static stability carried out so far the contributions of wing,
fuselage, nacelle, power and vertical tail to C​nβ have been considered. Noting that for the
pedal-fixed stability, the rudder deflection is constant, (C​nβ )​pedal-fixed is given by adding these
individual contributions.
i.e.,

Pedal-Free (Stick-Free) Static Stability

The analysis of static stability when rudder is left free to move is called rudder-free or
pedal-free stability. The hinge moment of the rudder is also brought to zero by suitable
deflection of the rudder tab.
The equation for hinge moment about rudder hinge can be expressed as:

The floating angle of rudder, δ​rfree​ is obtained when C​hr​ is zero.

i.e.,

or,

Hence,

A positive value of β would produce a negative force on the rudder and hence a positive hinge
moment. Consequently, C​hαv is positive. In a similar manner it is observed that a positive rudder
deflection would produce a positive side force and hence, negative hinge moment. Thus, C​hδr is

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negative. Hence, (dδ​r​)​free / dβ is positive. Thus, when a disturbance produces positive β, the
rudder will take such a position that the rudder deflection is positive (i.e., to the left). The result
is a negative change in yawing moment or reduced static stability. Thus, the level of static
directional stability will be reduced when the pedal is free.

Effect of large angle of side slip, rudder lock and dorsal fin

In order to understand the phenomenon of rudder lock, the following three points may be
noted.

(1) At high values of β (greater than about 15​0​), the vertical tail begins to stall and the
following changes occur.

(a) C​hβ​ and C​hδ​ change in such a way that δ​free​ is more positive than before.
(b) Contribution of fuselage to C​n​ becomes nonlinear.

(2) The yawing moment coefficient (C​n​) can be expressed as :

Thus, the rudder deflection required to make C​n equal

​ to zero or (δ​r​)​reqd​ is:

Note that C​nβ​ is positive and C​nδr ​is negative. Hence, (δ​r​)​reqd​ increases with β.

(3) The control force required is proportional to the difference between the control
deflection required and the floating angle (δ​free​).

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Figure above shows the variations of (δ​r​)​reqd and (δ​r​)​free as functions of β. When β is greater
than about 15​0​, (δ​r​)​free increases rapidly. It ((δ​r​)​free​) equals (δ​r​)​reqd at β = β​rl and then
exceeds (δ​r​)​reqd​. In this situation, the pedal force would be reverse in direction. This
phenomenon is called ​rudder lock as rudder may go to the mechanical stop to rudder
deflection and get locked there.

Prevention of rudder lock

The rudder lock is prevented by adding a small extension, at the beginning of the vertical tail. It
is called the dorsal fin.

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The stalling of the vertical tail gets delayed by dorsal fin. The dorsal fin acts as a vertical slender
delta wing which generates a strong vortex and delays separation of flow on the vertical tail.
Thus, with dorsal fin added, the contribution of the fuselage plus tail does not change sign even
at β values as high as 30​0​.

VTU Question Papers

Dec 14 – Jan 15
No question

Dec 15 – Jan 16 (Part B Q No. 5)

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June/July 16

June/July 14

Dec 13 – Jan 14

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