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edit approved Jun 30 at 17:59
Peter Cordes
edit approved Jun 30 at 17:59
Peter Cordes
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takfuruya
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What stops a plane from rolling when the ailerons are returned to their neutral position?

I am trying to learn airplane dynamics. I made a 3D rigid body simulator using lift and drag equations but it does not behave the way I expect.

When I deflect the ailerons, it causes the lift forces from the left and right wings to differ, causing a net moment on the aircraft. This starts a rolling motion. When I return the ailerons back to the neutral position, the lift forces balance and the net moment is back to zero. The plane keeps rolling at a constant speed and does not stop. This makes sense from a physics perspective.

plot

However, when I am flying in a commercial simulator (RealFlight RC Flight Simulator) the plane stops rolling immediately after the aileron control sticks are released. I believe this is also how a real plane behaves.

What stops the plane from rolling? There should be a counter-torque applied to stop a rigid body from rotating. Where does this torque come from? Is it angular air resistance?