Relaxed stability

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In aviation, relaxed stability is the tendency of an aircraft to change its atti
tude and angle of bank of its own accord. An aircraft with relaxed stability wil
l oscillate in simple harmonic motion around a particular attitude at an increas
ing amplitude.[citation needed]
This can be contrasted with the behaviour of an aircraft with positive stability
, which, when trimmed to fly at a certain attitude, will continue to do so in th
e absence of control input, and if perturbed will oscillate in simple harmonic m
otion on a decreasing scale around and eventually return to the trimmed attitude
.[citation needed] A positively stable aircraft will also resist any bank moveme
nt. A Cessna 152 is an example of a stable aircraft. Similarly, an aircraft with
neutral stability will not return to its trimmed setting without control input,
but will oscillate in a stable simple harmonic motion around the trimmed settin
g continuously, neither increasing nor decreasing oscillation amplitude, and be
susceptible to bank influences.[citation needed]
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Early aircraft
Vertical wing position
Unstable aircraft
Intentional instability
References
Bibliography
External links

Early aircraft
Early attempts at heavier-than-air flight were marked by a differing concept of
stability than is used today. Most aeronautical investigators regarded flight as
if it were not so different from surface locomotion, except the surface was ele
vated. They thought of changing direction in terms of a ship's rudder, so the fl
ying machine would remain essentially level in the air, as did an automobile or
a ship at the surface. The idea of deliberately leaning, or rolling, to one side
either seemed undesirable or did not enter their thinking.[1]
Some of these early investigators, including Langley, Chanute, and later SantosDumont and the Voisin brothers, sought the ideal of inherent stability in a very
strong sense, believing a flying machine should be built to automatically roll
to a horizontal (lateral) position after any disturbance. They achieved this wit
h the help of Hargrave cellular wings (wings with a box kite structure, includin
g the vertical panels) and strongly dihedral wings. In most cases they did not i
nclude any means for a pilot to control the aircraft roll[2][page needed]
they c
ould only control elevator and rudder. The unpredicted effect of this was that i
t was very hard to turn the aircraft without rolling.[2][page needed][3] They we
re also strongly affected by side gusts and side winds upon landing.[citation ne
eded]
The Wright brothers designed their 1903 first powered Flyer with anhedral (droop
ing) wings, which are inherently unstable. They showed that a pilot can maintain
control of lateral roll and it was a good way for a flying machine to turn to "ba
nk" or "lean" into the turn just like a bird or just like a person riding a bicy
cle.[4] Equally important, this method would enable recovery when the wind tilte
d the machine to one side. Although used in 1903, it would not become widely kno

wn in Europe until August 1908, when Wilbur Wright demonstrated to European avia
tors the importance of the coordinated use of elevator, rudder and roll control
for making effective turns.[citation needed]
Vertical wing position
The vertical positioning of the wing changes the roll stability of an aircraft.
An aircraft with a "high" wing position (i.e., set on top of the fuselage) h
as a higher roll stability. For example, the Cessna 152.
An aircraft with a "low" wing (i.e., underneath the fuselage) has less roll
stability. The Piper Pawnee uses a "low" wing.
This behavior is often explained through comparison to a pendulum, that is, the
fuselage hangs below the wings like a pendulum and its weight keeps the aircraft
oriented correctly, but this explanation is incorrect (see Pendulum rocket fall
acy).
Unstable aircraft
Modern military aircraft, particularly low observable ("stealth") designs, often
exhibit instability as a result of their shape. The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, f
or instance, employs a highly non-traditional fuselage and wing shape in order t
o reduce its radar cross section and enable it to penetrate air defences with re
lative impunity. However, the flat facets of the design reduce its stability to
the point where a computerised fly-by-wire system was required to allow safe ope
ration.[5]
Relaxed stability designs are not limited to military jets. The McDonnell Dougla
s MD-11 has a relaxed stability design which was implemented to save fuel. To en
sure stability for safe flight, an LSAS (Longitudinal Stability Augmentation Sys
tem) was introduced to compensate for the MD-11's rather short horizontal stabil
izer and ensure that the aircraft would remain stable. However, there have been
incidents in which the MD-11's relaxed stability caused an "inflight upset."[6]
Intentional instability
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is not an inherently stable design.
The latest generation of fighter aircraft often employ design elements which red
uce stability to increase maneuverability. Greater stability leads to lesser con
trol surface authority, therefore a less stable design will have a faster respon
se to control inputs. This is highly sought after in fighter aircraft design. Th
e BAE Harrier GR7/GR9 employs a significant and obvious anhedral angle to its wi
ngs, reducing the inherent lateral stability of the wings mounted high on the fu
selage.[citation needed]
A less stable aircraft requires smaller control deflections to initiate maneuver
ing; consequently drag and control surface imposed stresses will be reduced and
aircraft responsiveness will be enhanced. Since these characteristics will typic
ally make control by the pilot difficult or impossible, an artificial stability
will typically be imposed using computers, servos, and sensors as parts of a fly
by wire control system.[citation needed]
References
Crouch 2003, pp. 167 68.
Villard, Henry Serrano (2002). Contact! : the story of the early aviators. Mineo
la, NY: Dover Publications. pp. 39 53. ISBN 0-486-42327-1.
Letcher, Piers (2003). Eccentric France : the Bradt guide to mad, magical and ma
rvellous France. Chalfont St. Peter, England ENG: Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 38 39.
ISBN 1-84162-068-8.
Tobin 2004, p. 70.
Abzug, Malcolm; Larrabee, E Eugene (2002). Airplane stability and control: a his
tory of the technologies that made aviation possible (2 ed.). Cambridge [u.a.]:

Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 335 37. ISBN 0-521-80992-4.

PASZTOR, Andy (March 24, 2009). "FedEx Jet Has Control Issues". WSJ. Retriev
ed 1 October 2015.
Bibliography
Crouch, Tom D (2003), The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright
, New York: WW Norton & Co, ISBN 0-393-30695-X.
Tobin, James (2004), To Conquer The Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great R
ace for Flight, New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7432-5536-4.
External links
Categories:
Aerodynamics
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