Questions tagged [rudder]
A directional control surface, usually mounted on an aircraft's vertical stabilizer, which causes an airplane to yaw (and, sometimes, roll) to the left or right when deflected.
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How do you determine VMCG, if its yawing moment by the inoperative engine is only be corrected by the rudder?
The requirement of VMCG is:
VMCG, the minimum control speed on the ground, is the calibrated airspeed during the takeoff run at which, when the critical engine is suddenly made inoperative, it is ...
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Is less right rudder pressure needed for right chandelles
It is said on the Internet and the FAA Airplane Flying handbook that when rolling out from a right chandelle, the yawing moment is to the right, which partially cancelled some of the left turning ...
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What causes the secondary effect of rudder, and which direction does it act?
I understand that rudder deflection causes several things to happen. Primarily the aircraft yaws, and for a positive (trailing edge left) rudder deflection there will be a positive side force ...
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Why isn't the rudder below the tail?
Most airplanes have a rudder on top of the tail. When it is turned to the left, it causes the plane to yaw to the left. But it also puts a roll force to the right, because it is usually above the ...
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Design glider without aileron
What difficulties would it take to build a glider without ailerons? I read that "if you can control the turns with the rudder maybe you don't need ailerons." Well, apart from the fact that ...
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Simultaneous yaw damping and sideslip control of aircraft with rudder?
Yaw damping is achieved by using the rudder to generate a yawing moment that opposes any yawing motion. Also, rudder is used to correct sideslip by applying a rudder input in the opposite direction of ...
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Are there guidelines for how rudder pedals should be shaped?
I've seen a lot of rudder pedal design, from simple welded steel tubes to more complex branded aluminum forgings.
They all seem to work equally well in my experience, and I've never found myself ...
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How far apart are the rudder pedals on a Piper PA-28?
How far is the left rudder pedal from the right pedal on a Piper PA-28? I assume the left and right seats have equal pedal spacing, but if not, the left seat is what I would like to know.
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Why (and how) do aircraft rudders center themselves without input?
Why (and how) do almost all aircraft rudders have some sort of way of re-centering the rudder when there's no input being made? For example, if you wanted to move the flight controls (fly by wire ...
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Which airfoil is used on the Boeing 737 NG vertical stabilizer/rudder?
Does anyone know what airfoil Boeing uses on it's 737 NG's vertical stabilizer or the rudder itself? I can't seem to find the info anywhere and I need it for a university project.
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What is the name of the pedal assembly in an aircraft cockpit?
I'm proofreading a document about rudder control systems and client insists on calling the pedal assembly under the pilot's feet the "rudder". Would this ever be used?
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how does the lilium jet counter asymmetric thrust?
So Lilium states that its jet is a tailless design. Now, you can see that it has engines on both sides of the centerline.
Lets imagine that all of the engines on one side fail, how does it counter ...
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At take-off, what is the deflection angle of the rudder for the legacy Hornet? [duplicate]
At take-off, what is the deflection angle of the (legacy) F/A-18 Hornet's rudders?
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Were the Airbus A320 rudder hardover issues fixed after Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed due to uncommanded rudder deflection?
Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed when the rudder made an uncommanded deflection 2 degrees to the left:
When the crew was required to fly the Airbus A320 manually, there was
an unexplained nine-...
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Is it realistic that a plane reacts very quickly to rudder input as shown in a MSFS video?
Microsoft Flight Simulator is supposed to be a "simulator", so following the laws of physics.
However, I'm looking at a gameplay video (at 2:17) and it shows a plane reacting really quickly ...
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How would you design an airplane to counteract a single engine’s left turning tendencies?
How would you design an airplane to counteract a single engine’s left turning tendencies caused by torque, p-factor, spiraling slipstream and gyroscopic precession without pilot input or use of rudder?...
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Why doesn't the A-4 Skyhawk require rudder in coordinated turns like on other Century Series aircraft?
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a subsonic jet aircraft design from the early fifties.
Usually, in order to make a coordinate turn without skidding or slipping , the pilots of the other types of aircrafts ...
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What is the purpose of attaching a flat plate to the rudder trailing edge?
These are photos of Tecnam P2006T rudder trailing edge. Why it has such flat plate mounted at the end of the rudder?
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Should one use mainly the rudder or the ailerons combined with rudder to go back to center line on short short final?
My pattern work is improving but there is one thing I consistently miss: I have a very hard time staying aligned with the runway on short final, say after passing the airport fences. When the nose ...
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Why are there double hinge lines on the rudders of the Grumman C-2?
Why are there two sets of hinge lines on the rudders of the Grumman C-2?
A photo from the related ASE question Why does the C-2 left inboard stab not have a rudder?
Why would two hinge lines provide ...
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Why aren't rudders automatic? [duplicate]
Why aren't rudder pedals automatic or connected with ailerons to keep the nose of the aircraft coordinated with the turn its entering? Wouldn't this make for an easier and smoother to operate aircraft?...
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Steep turn: do we need rudder once we rolled into a bank angle?
Say a Cessna 172 is in a cruise level flight and clearing turn is just finished. I barely feel a left-turning tendency during the level flight (Maybe torque and slipstream are less significant).
I ...
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How does the rudder on the Rutan Long-EZ work?
I wonder if someone can explain how the rudder on the Rutan Long-EZ works. I have an idea that it is the induced drag which yaws the plane.
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How does a linear acuator in flight control work? [duplicate]
I see that the linear actuator moves the rudder but how? Thanks!
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Do pilots use the pedals in flight on planes with a sidestick (Airbus)?
Do the pilots flying sidestick aircraft with fly-by-wire control systems, such as the Airbus A320, use the rudder pedals while in the air? Or does sidestick input affect both the rudder and the ...
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Does an F/A-18 require a lot of rudder in turns?
I am an aspiring Navy fighter pilot and I use an X-Plane add on for FA-18 Hornet as a fighter. It's made by a creator named Colimata. I think the turns are unrealistic. When I begin a bank a lot of ...
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how does the rudder work? [closed]
What do you know about yaw control and more precisely about the result caused by the rudder (R on picture)?
Below the right pedal of the airplane has been depressed, and the rudder creates a rotation ...
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What are typical control surface deflections?
How can I tell what a reasonable control surface deflection is?
For example, is a 10 deg aileron deflection reasonable? Or a 0.5 degree aileron deflection? Is that too little? Too much? Same ...
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Is it true pilots in a smaller aircraft have the option of using the right or left door as rudder, to offset the actual rudder if failed? [duplicate]
So if the rudder fails or gets stuck in the “left” position a pilot could open the right door and it would essentially counter the effect?
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Do experienced pilots look at the inclinometers during flight?
I have been researching on the use of rudder during flight e.g. during turns and noticed that several novices have issues using the rudder to achieve coordinated turns.
Often, I see comments stating ...
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How to use Rudder during takeoff in single engine propeller aircraft? e.g. Cessna 172
Background: I am a complete beginner on Flight Simulator X: Steam edition, using a simulator setup with rudder pedals with realism set to the max (to simulate more realistic flying).
I understand ...
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In a flat spin, does the F-16 use its rudder deflection against the rotation for recovering?
If the H-tail is used in recovery from the flat spin, is the rudder used for stopping the yaw or beta of the F-16?
I know that it is surely used for inverted flat spin, but I believe that the rudder ...
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Why increase or decrease rudder when using elevator in turns?
In normal 30 degree bank level turns, instructors teach students that if you are to correct your altitude you also need to change your rudder input.
Why is that?
For example if you are descending in ...
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In F-16 the pilot or the FLCS , deflect the rudder to correct the adverse yaw effects in direction of roll during an aileron roll or in opposite way?
Is the rudder moving by FBW in direction of roll or in the opposite direction?
I understand that the rudder is used due to the ARI system (ailerons - rudder interconnect), but don't have any idea ...
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Testing control surfaces pre flight; what feedback does pilot recieve?
During taxi / pre-take off I see a lot of commercial airliners test the deflections of their various control surfaces like the rudder, ailerons etc.
What's the feedback received in this operation i....
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At what angle-of-attack (sideslip angle) would a symmetric vertical fin plus a deflected rudder have a lift coefficient of exactly zero?
For rudder deflection angles of 5, 10, 20, 30, and 45 degrees, at what (negative) angle-of-attack does a fin-rudder combination (including dorsal fin if present) have a lift coefficient of exactly ...
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How does the B-2 Spirit fly without a rudder? [duplicate]
On the B-2 Spirit bomber there are no rudders on the back of the aircraft, how does it fly without entering a flat spin or losing control, because when other aircraft like commercial liners lose their ...
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What failure modes did Airbus seek to eliminate or mitigate when they changed the design of the A310/A300-600's rudder travel limiter?
In the NTSB report on the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, it is mentioned (in the context of the changes between the A300-B2/B4's rudder system, on the one hand, and the A310/A300-600's rudder ...
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Why were early AFRP A300/A310 rudders prone to delaminating?
Reading the TSB report about that time an A310's rudder flew the coop, I came across this piece of background information (section 1.12.9.1, History of Earlier Design Aramid Fibre-Reinforced Plastic ...
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Why does the A320 use the rudder for lateral control in mechanical law?
When the Airbus A320’s flight control system is operating in mechanical law (the simplest and lowest-tech of the A320’s flight control laws, where deflections of the pilots’ joysticks are transmitted ...
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Why was the 737 main rudder servo valve’s vulnerability to causing uncommanded reversals never discovered in testing?
As was discovered during the NTSB investigation into the crash of USAir Flight 427, the design of the servo valve inside the main rudder power control unit (PCU) formerly used on 737 Original- and ...
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Why does the B-52 have such a tiny rudder?
The B-52 (aka Stratofortress, aka Grey Lady, aka BUFF) has a minuscule rudder for an aircraft of its size and wing-mounted engine placement:
Compare to, for instance, the rudder on a 747:
The B-52’s ...
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Effect of Rudder on Velocity Vector
Suppose we have an aircraft flying in steady, level flight at zero angle of attack. In this configuration, the velocity vector $\vec{V}$ is perfectly aligned with the $x$ axis. At some time $t=t_0$, ...
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Why do aircraft have a crossover airspeed, and why does it increase at higher vertical load factors?
According to the NTSB accident report on the crash of USAir Flight 427, all commercial aircraft have a crossover speed (the speed at which the maximum rolling force from the aircraft’s ailerons and ...
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How often does an airline pilot use the rudder pedals during flight?
How often does an airline pilot use the rudder pedals during flight? Is it only during takeoff and landing?
I am interested to know the rudder pedal usage time in minutes per average short range ...
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Why don't commercial aircraft use all-movable tail surfaces like my RC plane? [duplicate]
Many conventional RC planes use control surfaces at the tail just like the image below:
You can see there is a part in front of each surface control that never moves and only the surface control ...
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How to deal with turbulence while flying glider? (Cautions in applying rudder)
I just watched video explaining how the American Airline Flight 587 crashed
It led me to think about glider flying. The cause of that crash was that the first officer ...
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What happens if only rudder is applied in a turn without ailerons? Do the two have to be applied together all the time?
Fresh newbie in glider flying. I was told the joystick (aileron) and the pedal (rudder) should always be applied together when making a turn. My question is, what happens if I only pedals the rudder ...
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Why are some vertical stabilizers painted 'after' installation?
I recently watched the Airbus videos on making the first PAL and Air China A350s. PAL’s vertical stabilizer was painted before being installed, as explained in 'Why are the tails always painted, but ...
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Why does operating the rudders in the engine slipstream offer improved rudder authority at low speed?
The above question is usually presented as an advantage for H-tail configurations. How does it help?