RE: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group Why does it TURN (not just slide sidewards) when you bank w/ no rudder?

OK, so that was 'sort of' a trick question I posed. (why banking seems to turn)

How about if I add some hints… Straight and level flight happens only after an equation is solved to zero. Gravity is not a constant, it is an accelleration, 32 feet per second, per second (not a line or linear). Imagine the space shuttle in orbit, following a curved path where it is falling as fast as it's going forward. In order for the shuttle to leave orbit and fly straight, it would have to put itself into a curving climb that exactly matches the curving fall it is in. The net result of these two opposite curves would be straight and level.

 

Now for our little planes, with gravity curving us down, what would our controls have to be doing for straight and level flight?

 

Now with that thought, what would happen if those controls weren't flighting gravity at 1:1 (aka turn/knife edge/etc)?

 

Bill

From: Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of circicirci
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 8:54 AM
To: Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group Why does it TURN (not just slide sidewards) when you bank w/ no rudder?

 

 

Hey Bill,

Thanks for that question. I'd been thinking about that.

To recap your question (which is below):
In level flight without any rudder you bank. The plane turns to the side of the bank. The horizontal component of lift should slide the plane sidewards towards the side you have banked but continue to fly straight ahead but banked. It does not explain what makes the plane turn on a circular course.
So what's making the plane TURN?

Gary, I don't see how dihedral explains the plane _turning_ toward the side of the bank. All postive dihedral does is create a tendency for the plane to return to level flight if you let go of the controls.
Negative creates a tendency for the plane to continue to roll further once you start a bank.

Somehow the bank must be creating more drag on the lower wing (or less on the raised wing) creating the turning force.

My guess is the raised aileron on the lower wing -- being in the different airflow of the upper wing surface -- creates MORE drag on the lower wing than the lowered aileron on the raised wing does.

Alex

 

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