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Topic M11.1/M13.1: THEORY OF FLIGHT

Airplane Controls
Airplane Primary Flight Controls
Rotating it about one or more of its three axes controls an airplane. The ailerons
rotate it about its longitudinal axis to produce roll, elevators or their equivalent rotate
it about its lateral axis to produce pitch, and the rudder rotates the airplane about its
vertical axis to produce yaw.

Controls for Roll

Ailerons and spoilers are used to roll, or rotate an aircraft about its longitudinal axis
by varying the amount of lift produced by the two wings. Ailerons increase the lift on
one wing while decreasing lift on the opposite wing. Spoilers are used on some
airplanes to aid the ailerons by spoiling the lift on one wing to make it move
downward.

Ailerons
Ailerons are the primary roll control. To roll an airplane to the left, turn the control
wheel to the left. The aileron on the left wing moves up, decreasing the camber (or
curvature) of the left wing and decreasing the lift. A carry through (or balance) cable
pulls the right aileron down, increasing its camber and lift. The airplane rolls to the
left about its longitudinal axis. See Figure A1.

An airplane is turned to the left by banking, or rolling, it to the left. When the right
aileron moves down to increase the lift on the right wing and start the roll, it also
increases the induced drag, which pulls the nose to the right. As soon as the wing
rises, the lift tilts and its horizontal component pulls the nose around to the left as it
should.

Figure A1. Rotating the control wheel to the left moves the right aileron down. A carry through, or balance, cable
connects the two ailerons and as the right aileron is pulled down, the left aileron is pulled up.

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The movement of the nose in the wrong direction at the beginning of a turn is called
adverse yaw, and is minimized by using differential aileron travel. The aileron
moving upward travels a greater distance than the aileron moving downward. The
extra upward travel creates just about enough parasite drag to counteract the induced
drag caused by the lowered aileron. The aileron shown in Figure A2 is a Frise aileron.
Part of its nose extends below the bottom wing surface as an additional aid in
preventing adverse yaw.

Figure A2. Differential aileron movement is used to minimize adverse yaw when a turn is begun. The aileron
moving upward travels a greater distance than the one moving downward. This produces additional parasite drag
to oppose the induced drag on the opposite wing caused by the downward deflected aileron.

At the beginning of a turn, the pilot uses the rudder to overcome adverse yaw by
rotating the airplane about its vertical, or yaw, axis. This starts the nose moving in the
correct direction. As soon as the bank is established, the adverse yaw force
disappears and the rudder is neutralized. The rudder controls of some airplanes, such
as the one in Figure A3, are interconnected with the aileron controls through a spring
in such a way that rotating the control wheel pulls the rudder cable.

Figure A3. The rudder of this airplane is connected to the aileron controls through springs. This starts the nose
moving in the correct direction without the pilot having to use the rudder pedals.

Many large jet transport airplanes have two ailerons on each wing and flight spoilers
to assist in roll control. The flight spoiler deflects on the wing with the upward
moving aileron. The outboard ailerons are locked in their faired, or streamline,
position when the trailing edge flaps are up. The inboard ailerons and the flight
spoilers provide enough roll control for high speed flight, but when the flaps are
lowered, the inboard and outboard ailerons work together to provide the additional
roll control needed for low speed flight. All the flight spoilers can be raised together
to act as speed brakes. See Figure A4.

The ailerons are hydraulically powered, but they have internal balance panels and
servo tabs to help move them in case of hydraulic system failure.

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Figure A4. Picture showing the flight spoilers (speed brakes), flaps and outboard aileron.

Elevons
Delta airplanes use elevons. Airplanes with highly swept wings that do not have a
conventional empennage to provide pitch control also use elevons. These are
movable control surfaces on the wing trailing edge. The elevons operate together for
pitch control, and differentially for aileron control.

Controls for Pitch

When an airplane is trimmed for straight and level flight at a fixed airspeed, the
downward force on the horizontal stabilizer balances the nose down tendency caused
by the center of gravity ahead of the center of lift. All of the aerodynamic forces are
balanced and no control forces are needed. But the airplane can be rotated about its
lateral axis by increasing or decreasing the downward tail load.

Elevator
The most generally used pitch control for an airplane is the fixed horizontal stabilizer
with a movable elevator hinged to its trailing edge, as is illustrated in Figure A5.
When the pilot pulls back the control yoke, the trailing edge of the elevator moves up
and increases the down load caused by the horizontal tail surface. The tail moves
down and rotates the airplane nose up about its lateral axis. See Figure A5.

Figure A5. A typical elevator control system for a modern airplane

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Stabilator
Some airplanes use a stabilator for pitch control. This is a single piece horizontal
surface that pivots about a point approximately one third of the way back from the
leading edge. When the control wheel is pulled back, the leading edge of the
stabilator moves down and increases the downward force produced by the tail. This
rotates the nose up. When the wheel is pushed in, the nose of the stabilator moves up,
decreasing the tail load, and the airplane rotates nose down. See Figure A6.

Figure A6. A stabilator serves the functions of both stabilizer and elevator

Ruddervators
Some airplanes, most notably V tail Beech Bonanzas, have two fixed stabilizers and
two movable ruddervators arranged in a V. The control system is such that moving
the control wheel in and out actuates the movable surfaces together so they act as
elevators and rotate the airplane about its lateral axis. When the rudder pedals are
depressed, the surfaces move differentially, acting as a rudder to rotate the airplane
about its vertical axis.

Canard
Conventional aircraft achieve longitudinal stability and control through horizontal
stabilizers on the tail that produce a downward aerodynamic force. This downward
force acts as part of the flight load, and the wing must produce lift to overcome it.

A canard is a horizontal stabilizing surface located ahead of the main wing that makes
the airplane inherently stall proof. The center of gravity is located ahead of the main
wing, and the angle of incidence of the canard is greater than that of the main wing, so
it will stall first. See Figure A7. When the canard stalls, the nose drops and the
smooth airflow over the canard is restored, and its lift is increased to bring the
airplane back to straight and level flight. See Figure A7.

Some canards have movable surfaces on their trailing edge for pitch control and
others pivot the entire surface for control. The angle of sweep of canards mounted on
some high performance airplanes may be varied in flight to optimize the flight
characteristics.

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Figure A7. The angle of incidence of the canard is greater than that of the main wing and it will stall first. When it
stalls, the nose of the airplane drops and flying speed is restored.

Controls for Yaw

Tilting the lift vector with the ailerons turns an airplane. The rudder is used only at
the beginning of the turn to overcome adverse yaw and for such flight conditions as
crosswind takeoffs and landings.

Figure A8 shows a typical rudder control system. When the pilot presses the left
rudder pedal, the trailing edge of the rudder moves to the left and produces an
aerodynamic load on the vertical tail. It moves to the right and the nose moves to the
left.

Some airplanes have eliminated the movable rudder entirely, and others have
connected it to the aileron controls through springs so that when a turn is started, the
rudder moves in the correct direction automatically.

Figure A8. The rudder control of a modern airplane

Spoilers
Flight spoilers are hinged surfaces located ahead of the flaps. They are used in
conjunction with the ailerons to assist in roll control. When the ailerons are deflected,
the flight spoilers on the wing with the up aileron automatically deploy to a maximum
of 30 degrees to decrease the lift on the wing that is moving down. They also produce
additional parasite drag to overcome adverse yaw. When a large amount of aileron is
used, the spoilers account for about 80% of the roll rate.

Flight spoilers move differentially when they are used for roll control, but they may
be deployed symmetrically and used as speed brakes by actuating the speed brake
control. When used as speed brakes they may be extended between 0 degree and 45
degrees depending on the position of the speed brake control. Ground spoilers deploy
to their full 45 degrees opening when the airplane is on the ground with weight on the
landing gear and the speed brake lever is moved through its 10 degrees position.

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Some high performance general aviation airplanes have spoilers, or speed brakes,
installed on the front wing spar in such a way that they may be raised above the upper
wing surface in flight to allow the airplane to make a steep descent without gaining an
excess of speed, and without having to decrease the engine power to the extent that
the cylinders will be damaged by too rapid cooling.

Effect of High Lift Devices

An airplane can fly in a high lift condition without stalling if the pilot can use wing
flaps to modify the camber, or curvature, of the airfoil in flight. The various types of
flaps are discussed in later sections. The purpose of all flaps is the same: to increase
the camber of the wing so it can operate with a higher angle of attack without the
airflow over the top surface becoming turbulent and breaking away.

When the flaps are lowered and the camber is increased, both the lift and the drag are
increased. Most flap installations are designed in such a way that the first half of flap
extension increases the lift more than the drag, and partial flaps are used for takeoff.
Lowering the flaps all the way increases the drag more than the lift, and full flaps are
used for landing.

Boundary Layer Control

Air is viscous and clings to the surface over which it flows. At the surface, the air
particles are slowed to near zero relative velocity. Above the surface, the retarding
forces lessen progressively, until slightly above the surface the particles have the full
velocity of the air stream. The air immediately above the surface is called the
boundary layer.

Air flowing over a smooth flat surface begins (Figure A9) by flowing in a smooth
layer like fashion with no air particles moving from one level to another. This is
called laminar flow. Friction between the air and the surface uses part of the energy
in the air, and the boundary layer thickens, becomes unstable and turbulent, and
creates a great deal of drag.

Boundary layer is studied by attaching hundreds of short tufts of wool yarn to the
surface of a wing and photographing them in flight. At low angles of attack, most of
the tufts lie flat against the surface and straight across the wing. But as the angle of
attack is increased, some of the tufts behind the thickest part of the wing begin to
wave back and forth and up and down. Some of them even wave around and point
forward. These tufts show the turbulence in the boundary layer. See Figure A10.

Figure A9. Development of boundary layer on a smooth flat surface

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Figure A10. Tufts attached to the upper surface of these wings are used to study the boundary layer. Notice the
wing fences, the dark objects parallel to the wing chord. These fences prevent the air flowing spanwise

Since a turbulent boundary layer causes a definite increase in drag and usually leads
to airflow separation, much study has been made to find ways of minimizing it. Slots
and slats force high-energy air from below the wing into the upper surface boundary
layer at high angles of attack. This allows for a higher angle of attack before the
airflow separates. Slotted and triple slotted flaps are used to duct high-energy air over
the upper surface of the flaps when they are extended, which prevents the air
separating from their surface.

A more extensive method of boundary layer control involves sucking the boundary
layer from the surface so that the smooth air above it can flow nearer the surface. The
wing surface has a series of small slots in its upper skin, and these slots open into a
series of channels inside the wing that are connected to a suction pump. The turbulent
air in the boundary layer is removed and the smooth air is pulled down to the surface.

Vortex Generators
Vortex generators are small low aspect ratio airfoils such as those seen in Figure A11.
They are installed in pairs on the upper surface of a wing, on both sides of the vertical
fin just ahead of the rudder, and on the underside of the vertical stabilizer. They pull
high-energy air down to the surface, which energizes the boundary layer and prevents
airflow separation until the surface reaches a higher angle of attack.

Figure A11. Vortex generators pull high-energy air down to the surface to energize the boundary layer and reduce
drag.

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Vortex generators are installed on the wing of an airplane ahead of the aileron in one
row, about one third of the way back from the leading edge. This is the point where
the air begins to reach sonic velocity when the airplane is cruising in the transonic
flight range. Another row is installed about one third of the way forward of the
trailing edge, where the air returns to subsonic speed. These generators are mounted
in complementary pairs at such an angle that the vortex from one aids the vortex of its
companion.

The pressure between the generators in a pair is higher than the pressure on the
outside, and the air spills over and forms a tight swirl, or vortex. High energy air is
caught in the vortex and pulled down to the surface, where it energizes the sluggish
boundary layer, delays the onset of shock induced separation, and aids in maintaining
aileron effectiveness at high speeds.

Vortex generators mounted on the wings improve flight characteristics at high speed,
but those on the empennage improve flight characteristics at low speed. The
generators mounted on both sides of the vertical fin prevent flow separation over the
rudder during extreme angles of yaw, as would occur if rudder application was
delayed after an engine failure at low airspeed. Vortex generators mounted on the
lower surface of the horizontal stabilizer ahead of the elevators prevent flow
separation over the elevator at low airspeed.

Slots and Stall Strips

Some wings stall in such a way that the airflow breaks up ahead of the aileron while
the wing is still producing lift. This causes a loss of lateral control. Two methods of
preventing this problem have been used on small and medium size general aviation
airplanes: slots and stall strips.

Some airplanes have a fixed slot just behind the leading edge of the wing ahead of the
aileron, like that in Figure A12. At a high angle of attack, air flows through this slot
and is forced down over the upper surface, letting the wing reach a higher angle of
attack before the area ahead of the aileron stalls.

Figure A12. A fixed slot in the leading edge of the wing ahead of the aileron forces high-energy air down over the
aileron and prevents this portion of the wing from stalling before the inboard portion of the wing stalls.

A simpler fix for a wing that stalls in the aileron area before the root stalls is to install
a stall strip, as in Figure A13. This is a small triangular strip of metal attached to the
leading edge of the wing root. As the angle of attack increases, the stall strip disturbs
the air and causes the root of the wing to stall before the tip stalls. The nose of the
airplane drops before lateral control is lost.

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Figure A13. A stall strip forces the root of the wing to stall before the tip area stalls.

Balance Surfaces
Some controls have a portion of the surface extending out ahead of the hinge line, like
the rudder. When the rudder is deflected, air strikes the portion ahead of the hinge
line and assists in deflecting it and holding it deflected. Some aerodynamic balance
surfaces are also weighted to give them static balance.

Tabs
Small auxiliary devices on the trailing edges of the various primary control surfaces
are used to produce aerodynamic forces to trim the aircraft or to aid the pilot in
moving the controls. Some tabs are fixed to the surface and are adjustable only on the
ground. These tabs are used to produce a fixed air load on the control surface to trim
the airplane against a permanent out of balance condition. The tabs discussed in this
section are adjustable to compensate for varying flight conditions.

Trim Tabs
Trim tabs may be installed on the
rudder, aileron, and elevator. They are
controllable from the cockpit and
allow the pilot to deflect them in such
a direction that they produce an
aerodynamic force on the control surface that holds it deflected to correct for an out of
balance condition. This allows the airplane to be adjusted to fly straight and level
with hands and feet off the controls. Once a trim tab is adjusted, it maintains a fixed
relationship with the control surface as it is moved

Balance Tabs
A balance tab, like that in Figure A14, works automatically to produce an air load on
the control surface that assists the pilot in moving the surface. When the cockpit
control is moved to raise the trailing edge of the control surface, the linkage pulls the
balance tab so that it moves in the opposite direction. This opposite deflection
produces an aerodynamic force that assists the pilot in moving the surface. The
linkage for many balance tabs is adjustable to allow the position of the tab to be
changed in flight so the tab can serve as a trim tab as well as a balance tab.

Figure A14. A balance tab moves in the direction opposite to that of the control surface on which it is mounted.
This opposite deflection produces an aerodynamic force that aids the pilot in moving the surface. This balance tab
may be adjusted in flight so that it also acts as a trim tab.

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Figure A15. A servo tab is controlled from the cockpit Figure A16. A spring tab deflects only when control
to produce an aerodynamic force that moves the forces become so high that the pilot needs assistance in
primary control surface. moving the primary control surface.

Servo Tabs
A servo tab, also called a control tab, is installed on the control surfaces of airplanes
requiring such high control forces that it is impractical to move the primary surface
itself. The cockpit control is attached to the servo tab so that it moves in the direction
opposite that desired for the primary surface. Deflection of the servo tab produces an
aerodynamic force that deflects the primary surface, which in turn rotates the airplane
about the desired axis. See Figure A15.

Spring Tabs
A spring tab is used on high performance airplanes that, under high speed conditions,
develop aerodynamic forces so great that assistance is needed to help the pilot move
the controls. Figure A16 shows that the control horn is attached to the control surface
through a torsion rod. For normal flight the horn moves the control surface and the
spring tab does not deflect. But at high speeds when the control force becomes
excessive, the torsion rod twists and allows the horn to move relative to the surface.
The linkage deflects the spring tab in such a direction that it produces an aerodynamic
force that aids the pilot in moving the primary surface.

Antiservo Tabs
An antiservo tab is installed on the trailing edge of a stabilator to decrease its
sensitivity. The tab is attached to the aircraft structure through a linkage rod and a
jackscrew to allow it to be used as a trim tab.

When the stabilator is deflected, air strikes the portion ahead of the pivot point and
tries to increase its deflection. This makes the stabilator too sensitive. To decrease
this sensitivity, the antiservo tab on its trailing edge moves in the same direction as
the stabilator. When the trailing edge of the stabilator moves up, the antiservo tab
moves up and produces a downward load that tries to move the stabilator back to its
streamline position. When the trailing edge of the stabilator moves down, the
antiservo tab moves down, producing an upward force that tries to streamline the
stabilator. See Figure A17.

Antiservo tab is connected to adjustable

jackscrew to allow pilot to position it to produce
correct tail down load for hands off straight and
level flight.

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When control wheel is pulled back, stabilator

nose moves down, increasing down load on tail
and rotating airplane nose up about its lateral
axis. Antiservo tab moves up to produce
stabilizing force on stabilator.

When control wheel is moved forward, stabilator

nose moves up, decreasing downward tail load
and allowing airplane to rotate nose down about
its lateral axis. Antiservo tab moves down.
Figure A17. Antiservo tab

Adjustable Stabilizer
Rather than using tabs on the trailing edge of the primary control surface, some
airplanes are trimmed longitudinally by adjusting the position of the leading edge of
the horizontal stabilizer. These stabilizers pivot about the rear spar, and a jackscrew
controlled from the cockpit raises or lowers the leading edge. Raising the leading
edge gives the airplane nose down trim, and lowering the leading edge trims the
airplane in a nose up direction. See Figure A18.

Figure A18. Some airplanes provide longitudinal trim by pivoting the horizontal stabilizer about its rear spar and
raising or lowering the leading edge by means of a jackscrew.

Balance Panel
A balance panel, such as the one in Figure A19, is used on some large airplanes to
assist the pilot in moving the ailerons. The hinged balance panel forms a movable
partition for the sealed space ahead of the aileron. When the aileron is deflected
upward, as seen here, the air over its bottom surface speeds up and produces a low
pressure below the balance panel. This low pressure pulls the balance panel down
and puts a force on the leading edge of the aileron in such a direction that it assists the
pilot in holding the aileron deflected upward.

Figure A19. A balance panel (sealed internal overhang balance) uses the low pressure caused by the deflected
aileron to create a force that helps hold the aileron deflected.

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Stability and Control

The development of the airplane was delayed by two problems: how to achieve
stability and how to achieve control. Before the Wright brothers successful flight in
1903, others had flown. But none had their success in controlling their aircraft.

"Stability" relates to maintaining the desired flight attitude with a minimum of pilot
effort, and "control" involves rotating the airplane about one or more of its three axes.

Static Stability
The tendency of an aircraft to try to return to straight and level flight after it has been
disturbed from this condition is called static stability.

If the nose of an airplane that has positive longitudinal static stability is forced up or
down, and the controls are released, established forces bring the nose back to level
flight. If the airplane has neutral static stability, the nose will stay displaced but will
neither get further from its disturbed condition nor try to return to level flight. An
airplane with negative static stability will deviate further from a condition of level
flight and make no effort to return.

Positive static stability about lateral axis causes it to return to level flight after the
control has been moved to drop a wing, and then released. Positive static stability
about the vertical axis causes the airplane to straighten out and point into the relative
wind after a rudder pedal has been depressed and then released. Neutral and negative
static stability about these axes have the same effect as they have about the
longitudinal axis. See Figure A20.

A ball has positive static stability when in a trough. If moved

up the walls of the trough and released, it will roll back to the
bottom, which is its position of equilibrium.

A ball has neutral static stability when on a flat plane. When

moved from its position of equilibrium, it will not try to move
farther away, neither will it try to return to its original
position.

A ball has negative static stability when on a ridge. When

released from its position of equilibrium (on the top), it will
continue to move farther from its position with no added
disturbance.

Figure A20. Static Stability

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Dynamic Stability
Static stability is the production of a restorative force to bring the aircraft back to a
condition of straight and level flight after it has been disturbed. Dynamic stability is
the decrease of these forces with time.

For example, if the nose of an airplane that has positive static and positive dynamic
longitudinal stability is forced down and the control released, the nose will rise, but
will go beyond level flight into a nose up attitude. From this position, static stability
will cause the nose to drop, but again it will pass through level flight to a nose down
position, although not as low as the original displacement. The oscillations caused by
these restorative forces will decrease, and the airplane will return to its level flight
attitude. These oscillations are plotted in Figure A21.

An airplane with positive static and An airplane with positive static and An airplane with positive static and
positive dynamic stability will oscillate neutral dynamic stability will oscillate negative dynamic stability will oscillate
with damped oscillations if it is with an undamped oscillation. with divergent oscillation when
disturbed and the disturbance is disturbed.
removed.
Figure A21 Dynamic stability

An airplane with positive static stability and neutral dynamic stability will continue to
oscillate with the same displacement. One with positive static and negative dynamic
stability will have divergent oscillations, and the intensity of the oscillations will
increase with time.

Longitudinal Stability
Longitudinal stability is stability along the longitudinal axis and about the lateral, or
pitch, axis. A longitudinally stable airplane will maintain level flight without
requiring the pilot to continually operate the controls.

An airplane has longitudinal stability because of the relationship between its center of
gravity and center of lift. Figure A22 shows an airplane with its center of lift behind
its Center of Gravity (CG). The nose down rotation that would result is counteracted
by a nose up force caused by the downward aerodynamic load on the tail.

Figure A22. Longitudinal stability is produced by the relationship between the center of gravity and center of lift,
and by the downward aerodynamic load on the tail.

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The nose down force caused by the CG ahead of the center of lift is fixed and does not
change with airspeed. But the tail load is speed dependent the higher the airspeed, the
greater the downward force on the tail. If the airplane is trimmed for level flight with
the pilot hands off the controls, and a wind gust causes the nose to drop, the airplane
will nose down and the airspeed will increase. As the airspeed increases, the tail load
increases and pulls the nose back to its level flight condition. If the nose is forced up,
the airspeed will drop off, and the tail load will decrease enough to allow the nose to
drop back to level flight. See Figure A22.

Flying wing airplanes usually have big sweepback. Because they have no tail,
washing out the wing tips produce longitudinal stability. The speed-dependent
downward aerodynamic force at the wing tip is behind the center of lift, and it
produces the same stabilizing force as that produced by a conventional tail.

Static stability causes an airplane to return to a condition of straight and level flight
when it has been disturbed from this condition. This is good for most airplanes, but
not for highly maneuverable military fighter aircraft. These aircraft are designed with
what is known as relaxed static stability, and have little or no static stability. The
airplane must be flown at all times, an almost impossible task for the pilot. To
overcome this limitation, airplanes with relaxed static stability have sophisticated
electronic stability augmentation systems that compensate for the lack of natural static
stability.

Longitudinal Control (Rotation About the Lateral Axis)

When an airplane is trimmed for straight and level flight at a fixed airspeed, all the
aerodynamic forces are balanced and no control forces are needed. But the airplane
can be rotated nose upward about its lateral axis (pitch up) by increasing the
downward tail load, or nose downward (pitch down) by decreasing the tail load.

The most generally used pitch control for an airplane is the fixed horizontal stabilizer
with a movable elevator hinged to its trailing edge. When the control wheel or stick is
pulled back, the trailing edge of the elevator moves up and increases the down load on
the horizontal tail surface. The tail moves down and rotates the airplane nose up
about its lateral axis.

Some airplanes use a stabilator for pitch control. This is a single piece horizontal
surface that pivots about a point approximately one third of the way back from the
leading edge. When the control wheel is pulled back, the leading edge of the
stabilator moves down and increases the downward force produced by the tail. This
rotates the nose up. When the wheel is pushed in, the nose of the stabilator moves up,
decreasing the tail load, and the airplane rotates nose down.

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Figure A23. This airplane uses two fixed and two movable surfaces arranged in the form of a V for longitudinal
stability tend control

Longitudinal control is achieved on the V tail Beech Bonanzas with two fixed and two
movable surfaces arranged in the shape of a V. Moving the control wheel in and out
actuates the movable surfaces together so they act as elevators and rotate the airplane
about its lateral axis. When the rudder pedals are moved, the movable surfaces move
differentially and act as a rudder to rotate the airplane about its vertical axis. The
movable surfaces on this type of empennage are called ruddervators. See Figure A23.

Lateral Stability
Most airplane wings tilt upward from the fuselage, and this upward angle, called
dihedral, gives the airplane lateral stability. If the airplane shown in Figure A24 is
flying along with the pilot hands and feet off the controls, and a wind gust causes the
right wing to drop, the air striking the descending right wing will increase its angle of
attack, and the air striking the rising left wing will decrease its angle of attack. Since
lift is determined by the angle of attack, the uneven lift will bring the airplane back to
level flight.

Figure A24. Dihedral produces lateral stability. When the right wing drops in flight, its angle of attack increases
while the angle of attack of the left wing decreases. Increasing the angle of attack increases the lift, and the wings
return to level flight.

Lateral Control (Rotation About the Longitudinal Axis)

Balanced aerodynamic forces cause a properly designed and trimmed airplane to fly
straight and level with hands and feet off of the controls. The lift produced by the
wings is equal.

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When you want to roll the airplane to the right, turn the control wheel to the right. The
aileron on the right wing moves up, decreasing the camber (or curvature) of the right
wing and decreasing the lift. At the same time, the aileron on the left wing moves
down, increasing the camber of the left wing and increasing the lift. The difference in
lift produced by the two wings rolls the airplane to the right.

Turning Flight
Look at Figure A25. When the airplane is rolled to the right, the lift produced by the
wing, which acts perpendicular to the lateral axis, now has a horizontal component
that pulls the nose around to the right.

But when the left aileron moves down to increase the lift on the left wing and start the
bank, it also increases the induced drag that pulls the nose to the left. As soon as the
wing rises, the lift tilts, and its horizontal component pulls the nose around to the right
as it should.

Figure A25. The horizontal component of lift pulls the nose of a banked airplane around in a turn. When the bank
is started, the down aileron produces enough induced drag to temporarily start the nose moving in the wrong
direction.

The movement of the nose in the wrong direction at the beginning of a turn is called
adverse yaw. It is minimized by the use of differential aileron travel. The aileron
moving upward travels a greater distance than the aileron moving downward. The
extra upward travel creates just about enough parasite drag to counteract the induced
drag caused by the lowered aileron. Another way to minimize adverse yaw is to use
Frise ailerons, as shown in Figure A26. The hinge of the aileron is set back from the
leading edge so that when the aileron is deflected upward, its nose extends below the
bottom wing surface and produces parasite drag.

Figure A26. A Frise aileron minimizes adverse yaw by extending the nose of the up aileron below the lower
surface of the wing to produce additional parasite drag. This counteracts the increased induced drag caused by the
down aileron on the opposite wing.

At the beginning of a turn, the rudder is used to rotate the airplane about its yaw axis
to start the nose moving in the correct direction. As soon as the bank is established,
the adverse yaw force disappears and the rudder is neutralized.

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Many large jet transport airplanes have two ailerons on each wing and flight spoilers
to assist in roll control. The outboard ailerons are locked in their faired, or streamline,
position when the trailing edge flaps are up. The inboard ailerons and the flight
spoilers provide enough roll control for high-speed flight, but when the flaps are
lowered, the inboard and outboard ailerons work together to provide the additional
roll control needed for low speed flight.

Flight spoilers are hinged surfaces located ahead of the flaps. They are used in
conjunction with the ailerons to assist in roll control. When the ailerons are deflected,
the flight spoilers on the wing with the up aileron automatically extend to decrease the
lift on the wing that is moving down and to produce additional parasite drag to
overcome any adverse yaw. When a large amount of aileron is used, the spoilers
account for about 70% of the roll rate.

Directional Stability
Stability about the vertical axis is called directional stability, and it causes the nose of
the airplane to turn into the relative wind when it has been disturbed from this
condition. Directional stability is achieved primarily by the weathervane tendency of
the vertical fin. Figure A27 shows that when the airplane is flying straight into the
relative wind, the air flows evenly around the fin, and there is no sideways force on
the tail. But if a wind gust strikes the airplane and forces the nose to the right, the air
striking the vertical fin gives it an angle of attack that increases the lift on the right
side and pulls the tail around until the airplane is headed back into the relative wind.

An airplane propeller forces the air to rotate around the fuselage in a corkscrew like
manner. This causes the air to strike the vertical fin in such a way that produces an
angle of attack resulting in a sideways force to the right. To prevent this yawing force,
most single engine propeller driven airplanes have the leading edge of the vertical fin
offset a few degrees to the left. This places the fin directly into the relative wind
when the airplane is flying at its normal cruising airspeed with the engine turning at a
specific RPM. See Figure A27.

When airplane is flying straight into relative wind, air strikes When a wind gust forces the nose to rotate to the right, air
both sides of vertical fin evenly and there is no force to the side. strikes vertical fin in such a direction, it creates an aerodynamic
force that pulls the tail to the right and corrects the yaw.
Figure A27 Directional Stability

The Effect of Sweepback

One of the problems with high-speed aerodynamics is the compressibility factor,
which causes shock waves to form on the wing. With the leading edge of the wing

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swept back, compressibility can be delayed to a higher airspeed. But sweepback also
has an effect on directional stability.

When an airplane with a swept back wing is struck by an air gust that causes the nose
to yaw to the left, as is shown in Figure A28, the right wing moves forward into the
wind and the left wing moves back. More air is now flowing straight back across the
right wing, producing more induced drag than the left wing. So the nose is pulled
back to the right.

When an airplane with swept-back wings is flying straight into the When an airplane yaws to the left, the right wing produces more
wind, the lift and drag on both sides are equal. induced drag than the left, and the airplane tends to straighten
into the relative wind.

Figure A28 Effect of sweptback on directional stability

Dutch Roll
Swept wing airplanes sometimes encounter a condition in which the airplane
oscillates about both its longitudinal and vertical axes at the same time. This is
known as Dutch roll. When the airplane is disturbed with a wing drops, both the
dihedral and the sweepback work together to restore the airplane to straight and level
flight. But if the dihedral effect is strong with respect to the static directional stability,
an oscillation is set up that is uncomfortable to the occupants. Airplanes that have this
problem are usually equipped with a yaw damper, a special automatic flight control
device that senses the Dutch roll and applies corrective rudder action to prevent or at
least greatly attenuate it.

Directional Control (Rotation About the Vertical Axis)

The rudder is used on an airplane only to rotate it about its vertical axis. An airplane
is turned by tilting the lift vector with the ailerons and not by using the rudder. The
rudder is used only at the beginning of the turn to overcome the adverse yaw and start
the nose moving in the correct direction and for such flight conditions as crosswind
takeoffs and landings.

Some airplanes have eliminated the movable rudder entirely, and others have
connected it to the aileron controls through springs so that when a turn is started, the
rudder automatically moves in the correct direction.

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11.1.2 High Speed Flight

Basic High Speed Aerodynamics Compressibility
During the latter part of World War II, airplane design advanced so that a new
problem arose. High performance airplanes such as the Lockheed Lightning could
attain such high speeds in a dive that, as they approached the speed of sound, the
controls lost their effectiveness and in some instances developed flutter and vibration
that caused the airplane to come apart in the air. There was thought to be an
insurmountable sound barrier that prevented airplanes from flying faster than the
speed of sound. But on October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X 1 faster than
sound and proved to the world that there was no such a thing as a true sound barrier.

At this speed, the air flowing over the airplane surfaces no longer acts as an
incompressible fluid, but it actually compresses and follows the laws of compressible
flow.

Compressible and Incompressible Flow

When air flows at a subsonic speed, it acts as an incompressible fluid. Figure A29
shows the way air flowing at a subsonic velocity acts as it flows through a converging
duct. The mass of air flowing through this duct remains constant at all locations. For
the same mass of air to pass through the restriction in the tube, it must speed up, and
as its velocity increases, its pressure decreases. As the air leaves the restriction and
enters the diverging portion of the duct, it slows down to its original velocity, and its
pressure rises to its original value. The density of this subsonic flow of air does not
change.

Figure A29. As air flows through a converging duct at speeds below the speed of sound, its velocity increases and
its pressure decreases. As it leaves the restriction and enters the diverging portion of the duct, its velocity
decreases and its pressure increases.

When the air flows through this same converging duct at a supersonic velocity, shown
in Figure A30, it behaves differently. It compresses and its density increases. Its
velocity decreases and its pressure increases. As it flows into the diverging portion of
the duct, it expands and its density decreases. Its velocity increases and its pressure
decreases.

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Figure A30. The flow of supersonic air through a convergent divergent duct

The Speed of Sound

The speed of sound is the speed at which small pressure disturbances are able to move
through the air. It is determined entirely by the temperature of the air, as indicated in
the chart in Figure A31.

High-speed flight is measured in terms of Mach number, which is the ratio of the
speed of the aircraft to the speed of sound. An airplane flying at a speed of Mach 1 at
sea level is flying at the speed of sound, which, according to Figure A31, is 661.7
knots. When it is flying at a speed of Mach 0.75, it is flying at 75% of the speed of
sound at the existing air temperature. Airplanes that fly at these speeds have
Machmeters in the cockpit that automatically compensate airspeed for the air
temperature and show the pilot the Mach number at which the airplane is flying.

Altitude Temperature Speed of Sound

degree F degree C
feet knots
Sea Level 59.0 15.0 661.7
10,000 23.3 -4.8 638.6
20,000 -12.3 -24.6 614.6
30,000 -48.0 -44.4 589.6
40,000 -69.7 -56.5 573.8
60,000 -69.7 -56.5 573.8

Figure A31. The speed of sound in the air varies with the air temperature

Flight Speed Ranges

High-speed flight can be divided into four speed ranges:
Subsonic - Below Mach 0.75
All airflow is below the speed of sound.
Transonic - Mach 0.75 to Mach 1.20
Most of the airflow is subsonic, but in some areas, it is supersonic.
Supersonic - Mach 1.20 to Mach 5.00
All of the airflow is faster than the speed of sound.
Hypersonic - Greater than Mach 5.00

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Subsonic Flight
In low speed flight, air is considered to be incompressible, and acts in much the same
way as a liquid. It can undergo changes in pressure without any appreciable change in
its density. But in high-speed flight the air acts as a compressible fluid, and its
density changes with changes in its pressure and velocity.

An airplane passing through the air creates pressure disturbances that surround it.
When the airplane is flying at a speed below the speed of sound, these disturbances
move out in all directions and the air immediately ahead of the airplane is affected
and its direction changes before the air reaches the surface. This subsonic airflow
pattern is shown in Figure A32.

At speeds greater than the speed of sound, the disturbances do not spread out ahead of
the airplane, and there is no change in flow direction ahead of the leading edge.

Air flowing around an airfoil at subsonic speeds deflects before it reaches the surface.

Air flowing around an airfoil at supersonic speeds is not deflected ahead of the leading edge.

Figure A32. Air deflection around airfoil in flight

Transonic Flight
When an airplane is flying below the speed of sound in the transonic range, some of
the air flowing over the airfoil has accelerated until it is supersonic and a normal
shock wave forms. Air passing through this normal shock wave slows to a subsonic
speed without changing its direction. The shock wave can cause passing air to be
turbulent and to separate from the wing surface. Shock induced separation can create
serious drag and control problems. See Figure A33.

Figure A33. When an airplane is flying in the transonic speed range, some air over the surface of the wing is
speeded up until it becomes supersonic. A normal shock wave forms that slows the air behind it to a subsonic
speed.

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Effect of Sweepback
One of the most common ways to prevent drag rise and control problems with an
airplane flying in the transonic range is to sweep the wings back. Only the component
of the air that flows across the wing surface perpendicular to the leading edge is
involved in the production of lift. By sweeping the wing back at an angle, for
example, 45 degrees, when the airplane is flying at the speed of sound (Mach 1.0), the
air flowing directly across the wing perpendicular to the leading edge is moving only
at a speed of Mach 0.7. See Figure A34.

Notice in Figure A34 that there is a component of the air that flows in a spanwise
direction. This airflow does not produce lift but it does cause problems. To minimize
this spanwise flow, wing fences may be installed on the upper surface of the wing
parallel to the line of flight.

Figure A34. By sweeping the wing back, the flight airspeed can be increased appreciably before the component of
the air flowing directly across the wing reaches the speed of sound.

Forward Swept Wing

Sweeping the wing forward can also attain the advantage of sweepback. This has the
additional advantage that the forward swept wing stalls at the root first, eliminating
the loss of lateral control experienced by a swept back wing as it approaches a stall.

Figure A35. The Grumman X29 Advanced Technology Demonstrator exploits the advantages of the forward swept
wing because of the extensive use of composites in its aeroelastic tailoring of the wing to counteract undesirable
bending stresses.

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But forward swept wings lack torsional rigidity. In other words, the wing tends to
twist when high flight loads are applied. When a swept back wing twists in flight, the
wing tips wash out. Their angles of incidence and thus the lifts decrease. This
decreases the load imposed on the wing. But when a forward swept wing twists in
flight, its tips wash in. Their angle of incidence increases and the loads imposed on
the wing can increase until they destroy it. See Figure A35.

The Grumman Corporation research airplane (the X29) uses high tech composite
construction to make the forward swept wing lightweight and so rigid that it does not
twist in flight.

Supersonic Airflow
When air flows over a surface at a supersonic speed, pressure waves form. There are
three types of pressure waves, normal and oblique shock waves, and expansion waves.

Normal Shock Waves

Air flowing over an airfoil acts in the same way it does as it flows through a
converging and diverging duct. Figure A36 shows that air approaching a relatively
blunt nose subsonic airfoil at a supersonic speed forms a normal shock wave, which
wastes energy. When the supersonic air stream passes through a normal shock wave:

• The air stream slows to subsonic.

• The airflow direction immediately behind the wave is unchanged.

• The static pressure of the air stream behind the wave increases greatly.

• The density of the air stream behind the wave increases greatly.

• The energy of the air stream is greatly reduced.

Figure A36. When a supersonic air stream encounters a blunt object, a normal shock wave forms. The air
immediately behind the wave is slowed to a subsonic speed.

Oblique Shock Waves

When a supersonic air stream strikes a sharp edged airfoil, the air is forced to turn,
forming an oblique shock wave. See Figure A37. As the air passes through an
oblique shock wave:

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• The air stream is slowed down, but it is still supersonic.

• The flow direction changes to follows the surface.

• The static pressure of the air stream behind the shock wave increases.

• The density of the air stream behind the shock wave increases.

• Some of the energy in the air stream is converted into heat and is wasted.

Figure A37. When a sharp edged, double wedge airfoil moves through the air at a supersonic speed, the air is
forced to turn, and oblique shockwaves form at the leading and trailing edges. At the center of the airfoil, the
surface drops away from the air stream and an expansion wave forms.

Expansion Waves
When air flows at a supersonic speed over a double wedge airfoil like that in Figure
A37, the air will turn to follow the surface and an expansion wave forms.

When supersonic air flows through an expansion wave:

• The air stream accelerates and the air behind the expansion wave has a higher
supersonic velocity.

• The direction of flow changes to follow the surface.

• The static pressure of the air stream behind the wave decreases.

• The density of the air behind the wave decreases.

• There is no loss of energy in the air stream.

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AERODYNAMIC HEATING
Air is heated when it is compressed or when it is subjected to friction. An aircraft
will have compression at the stagnation point, compression through a shock wave,
and friction in the boundary layer.

Figure A39: Temperature effect on Mach number

So when an aeroplane moves through the air it’s skin temperature will increase.
This occurs at all speeds, but only becomes significant from a skin temperature
point of view at higher Mach numbers.

It can be seen from Figure A39 that the temperature rise at M 1.0 is approximately
40°C. Again from a skin temperature point of view, this rise in temperature does
not become significant until speeds in the region of M 2.0 are reached, which is
the approximate limit speed for aircraft manufactured from conventional
aluminium alloys. Above this speed the heat treatment of the structure would be
changed and the fatigue life shortened. For speeds above Mach 2ꞏ0, Titanium or
"stainless steel" must be used.

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AREA RULE
It was stated that in addition to the drag of individual components there is an extra
drag due to interference between these components, principally between wing and
fuselage. This is especially important at high speed. Experiments have shown that
a large part of the transonic drag rise for a complete aircraft is due to interference.
Interference drag at transonic speeds may be minimised by ensuring that the cross-
sectional area distribution along the aircraft’s longitudinal axis follows a certain
smooth pattern.

Without Area Rule With Area Rule

Figure A40: Area rule

With some early high speed aircraft designs this was not the case. The area
increased rapidly in the region of the wing, again in the vicinity of the tail and
decreased elsewhere, giving an area distribution like the one illustrated in Figure
A40.

On later aircraft, the fuselage was waisted, i.e., the area was reduced in the region
of the wing attachment, and again near the tail, so that there was no "hump" in the
area distribution, giving a distribution like the one illustrated in Figure A40.
There is an optimum area distribution, and the minimisation of transonic
interference drag requires that the aircraft should be designed to fit this
distribution as closely as possible. This requirement is known as the 'transonic
area rule'. In practice, no aircraft has this optimum distribution, but any reasonably
smooth area distribution helps to reduce the transonic drag rise.

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