Pitch, Speed and Yaw are fundamental to understanding how to control a plane.
Pitch – this changes the angle of attack, AOA, of the wing. You
can think of pitch as up and down but it is really an AOA control. By
changing the AOA we change the lift characteristic of the wing.
Roll – This control rotates the wings about the axis of the fuselage. We also call this "banking" the plane. Roll is the primary method used for turning your plane.
By redirecting the lift of the wings in the direction you want to
turn,the lift force will take the plane in that direction. We often add
"up"once we have rolled which increases the angle ofattack of the wings
to increase the lift generated by the wing in the direction we want to
go. As "up" is normally into the turn when we are rolled, up will
increase the rate of the turn. This is some times called bank and pull
or bank and crank turning.
Yaw – the rotation of the plane around a point near the Center
of Gravity of the plane, as if it were hanging from a string at that
point. This would move the tail/nose left and right along a flat
plane.Yaw alone will cause a flat winged plane to skid along in the
direction it was traveling until the drag of the fin and fuselage push
it over . This is not a primary turning method.
Yaw control is useful for "crabbing" into the wind on landing approach
or keeping the nose up in a knife edge, as well as other things.
Dihedral or polyhedral – This is the up sweep of the wing seen
in some planes. In rudder only planes, this is necessary so that the
rudder, in combination with the wing's dihedral, can bank the plane. As we
yaw the plane using the rudder, we present one uplifted wing tip to
the oncoming air stream, which increases the lift on that tip while
decreasing the lift on the opposite wing.
This causes the wings to roll
which will result in a turn. Again we can increase the AOA – add "up" -
to increase the rate of turn. When we remove the yaw force by straightening
the rudder, the dihedral in the wings will tend to return the plane
to level flight. That is why beginner planes, whether they have ailerons
or not, tend to have significant dihedral in the wings, it makes them
more self correcting.
Many planes with ailerons also have dihedral in the wings but here it is
primarily for stability, as the ailerons will be used most of the time
to roll the plane.
Pitch is controlled by motor speed, elevator, canard, elevons, or a combination depending on the design of the plane.
Roll, your primary turning control, is handled by the
ailerons, wingerons, elevons or, in planes without ailerons, roll is
produced by combination of rudder and wing dihedral. Roll is always your primary turning control.
On planes that have ailerons and a rudder, yaw is a secondary
turning assist to provide smoother turns and more efficient turns in
combination with the ailerons.
Yaw control, via the rudder, is very important in many acrobatic
moves.The yaw control is also your primary directional control on the
ground. This is done with the rudder or a combination of rudder and
a turnable ground wheel. In many cases the ground wheel is attached to
the rudder itself.
So, pitch, roll and yaw are your control axis. They can be controlled
by a variety of methods depending on the design of the aircraft.
Certainly helicopters also have these control axis but they use
different methods than fixed wing aircraft.
If we add the speed control, we can relate this to the control sticks using Mode 2 layout, which is the standard in North America.
In Mode 2 we have pitch and roll on the right stick and speed and yaw
on the left stick. What surfaces and devices those sticks control
depends on the design of the aircraft. For example, sometimes rudder is
on the right stick and sometimes it is on the left. Sometimes throttle
is on the left stick as our speed control and sometimes, as in the case
of gliders, we tend to put the flaps on the left stick as our speed
control.
If you think in terms of pitch, roll, yaw and speed, your controls
always make sense regardless of what type of aircraft you are flying.
Clear Skies and Safe Flying
Ed Anderson
This thread can be seen HERE.
Pitch, Speed and Yaw Explained
Pitch, Speed and Yaw are fundamental to understanding how to control a plane.
Pitch – this changes the angle of attack, AOA, of the wing. You
can think of pitch as up and down but it is really an AOA control. By
changing the AOA we change the lift characteristic of the wing.
Roll – This control rotates the wings about the axis of the fuselage. We also call this "banking" the plane. Roll is the primary method used for turning your plane.
By redirecting the lift of the wings in the direction you want to
turn,the lift force will take the plane in that direction. We often add
"up"once we have rolled which increases the angle ofattack of the wings
to increase the lift generated by the wing in the direction we want to
go. As "up" is normally into the turn when we are rolled, up will
increase the rate of the turn. This is some times called bank and pull
or bank and crank turning.
Yaw – the rotation of the plane around a point near the Center
of Gravity of the plane, as if it were hanging from a string at that
point. This would move the tail/nose left and right along a flat
plane.Yaw alone will cause a flat winged plane to skid along in the
direction it was traveling until the drag of the fin and fuselage push
it over . This is not a primary turning method.
Yaw control is useful for "crabbing" into the wind on landing approach
or keeping the nose up in a knife edge, as well as other things.
Dihedral or polyhedral – This is the up sweep of the wing seen
in some planes. In rudder only planes, this is necessary so that the
rudder, in combination with the wing's dihedral, can bank the plane. As we
yaw the plane using the rudder, we present one uplifted wing tip to
the oncoming air stream, which increases the lift on that tip while
decreasing the lift on the opposite wing.
This causes the wings to roll
which will result in a turn. Again we can increase the AOA – add "up" -
to increase the rate of turn. When we remove the yaw force by straightening
the rudder, the dihedral in the wings will tend to return the plane
to level flight. That is why beginner planes, whether they have ailerons
or not, tend to have significant dihedral in the wings, it makes them
more self correcting.
Many planes with ailerons also have dihedral in the wings but here it is
primarily for stability, as the ailerons will be used most of the time
to roll the plane.
Pitch is controlled by motor speed, elevator, canard, elevons, or a combination depending on the design of the plane.
Roll, your primary turning control, is handled by the
ailerons, wingerons, elevons or, in planes without ailerons, roll is
produced by combination of rudder and wing dihedral. Roll is always your primary turning control.
On planes that have ailerons and a rudder, yaw is a secondary
turning assist to provide smoother turns and more efficient turns in
combination with the ailerons.
Yaw control, via the rudder, is very important in many acrobatic
moves.The yaw control is also your primary directional control on the
ground. This is done with the rudder or a combination of rudder and
a turnable ground wheel. In many cases the ground wheel is attached to
the rudder itself.
So, pitch, roll and yaw are your control axis. They can be controlled
by a variety of methods depending on the design of the aircraft.
Certainly helicopters also have these control axis but they use
different methods than fixed wing aircraft.
If we add the speed control, we can relate this to the control sticks using Mode 2 layout, which is the standard in North America.
In Mode 2 we have pitch and roll on the right stick and speed and yaw
on the left stick. What surfaces and devices those sticks control
depends on the design of the aircraft. For example, sometimes rudder is
on the right stick and sometimes it is on the left. Sometimes throttle
is on the left stick as our speed control and sometimes, as in the case
of gliders, we tend to put the flaps on the left stick as our speed
control.
If you think in terms of pitch, roll, yaw and speed, your controls
always make sense regardless of what type of aircraft you are flying.
Clear Skies and Safe Flying
Ed Anderson
This thread can be seen HERE.