Aircraft Stability and Performance:

Trim and Static Stability - basic concepts

Dr. A. Rona
Aims of Lecture

1. This lecture takes a “first look” at aircraft stability

2. Focus: static stability (longitudinal)
3. Topics briefly covered:
I The concept/mechanism of “trim”
I Pitching moment
I Aerodynamic Centre
I Role of the tail
I Static margins
4. The lecture acts as a bridge between 2nd/3rd year
5. Static stability also combines concepts seen in Dynamics and Control
Trim
I An aircraft is trimmed if it is flying in a steady flying condition

I Airspeed is constant
I Resultant moments on aircraft are all zero
Trim
Trim requires total moments on aircraft body to be set to zero
I Yawing moment N = 0 - relatively easy due to symmetry
I Rolling moment L = 0 - relatively easy due to symmetry
I Pitching moment M = 0 - no symmetry in longitudinal plane

I Pilot trims the aircraft by either:

1. Adjusting stick/pedals/yoke to ensure total moments are zero
(stick fixed)
2. Adjusting trim tabs to ensure total moments are zero....
...and that stick “input” is also zero
(stick free)
3. Adjusting the stick/pedals/yoke to find a combination of inputs for
which total moments are zero and then using an electronic system to
zero the stick again
(stick free)
Trim vs. stability
Important Distinction
1. Trim: concerned with conditions for an equilibrium
2. Can that equilirium be maintained: stability

I If an aircraft is “trim-able” at a certain flight condition, it means

that the control effectors can be used to zero the total moments
acting on the aircraft at that flight condition.
I If, given a perturbation to that trim condition, the aircraft remains
at that condition, the aircraft is said to be “stable”.?

?
Unfortunately, there is more to it than this....
Stability types

Dynamic Stability
I Comprehensive, but complex
I Based on aircraft dynamics (differential equations)
I Covered in next module

Static Stability
I Based on standard physical principles - restoring moments
I Gives a necessary condition for dynamic stability
I A good starting place to study aircraft stability
Questions about stability - Q1
“If an aircraft (or object) is perturbed from its equilibrium (trim)
condition, will any resulting forces tend to restore it to its
equilibrium?”

× Aircraft is statically unstable

√
Aircraft is statically stable
? Aircraft returns to an equilibirum, BUT, different to original
⇒ Aircraft is statically neutrally stable
Questions about stability - Q2
“Is there a measure of static stability?”
√
Static margin - “How far” an aircraft is from being statically
unstable.

Aircraft with large static margins ⇒ insensitive to perturbations, so

√
Robust steady flying characteristics
× Relatively insensitive to control effectors (a lot of effort to
manoeuvre)

Aircraft with small static margins ⇒ sensitive to perturbations, so

× Tend to be affected by peturbations more e.g. wind gusts
√
More sensitive to control effectors (easier to manoeuvre)
Longitudinal static stability
“Assume angle of attack has been perturbed. In what sense does
restoring moment act?”

∆α

I Positive increment, ∆α in angle of attack

I Static stability requires:
I Negative (counter-clockwise) restoring moment ∆M
∆α > 0 requires ∆M < 0
Longitudinal static stability

∆α
α

I Negative increment, ∆α in angle of attack

I Static stability requires:
I Positive (clockwise) restoring moment ∆M
∆α < 0 requires ∆M > 0

Therefore for static stability

∆M dM
< 0 or <0
∆α dα