AAE 354

Lesson 03-3

Flight Dynamics

Static Lateral
Stability
 Bank Angle Disturbance
• A change in bank angle will produce no change
in rolling moment. In fact, 𝜑 produces no
moment at all. Thus, 𝑪𝒍𝝋 = 𝟎, and although it
is analogous to 𝑪𝒎 and 𝑪𝒏 , it contributes
nothing to lateral static stability analysis
 Indirect Effect
• Bank angle does have an indirect effect on
rolling moment. As the aircraft is rolled into a
bank angle, a component of aircraft weight will
act along the y-axis and will thus produce an
unbalanced force. This unbalanced force in the
y direction will produce a sideslip, 𝜷, and this
will influence the rolling moment produced
Sideslip Produced by Bank Angle
 Dihedral Effect
The generation of a rolling moment due to
sideslip is also called dihedral effect, and an
airplane that develops a restoring rolling
moment because of sideslip is said to have a
positive or stable dihedral effect. Therefore, a
laterally stable airplane has a positive dihedral
effect and vice versa
 𝐶𝑙𝛽
𝑪𝒍𝜷 , which is commonly referred to as "dihedral effect," is a
measure of the initial tendency of an aircraft to roll when
disturbed in sideslip

𝐿
𝐶𝑙 =
𝑄𝑆𝑏

𝜕𝐿
𝜕𝐶𝑙 𝜕𝛽
𝑪𝒍𝜷 = =
𝜕𝛽 𝑄𝑆𝑏
Static Roll Stability

𝐶𝑙𝛽 < 0
 Contribution to Dihedral Effect
• Wing Contribution
– Dihedral Angle
– Wing Sweep
– Wing-Fuselage interference
• Fuselage Contribution: Negligible direct
contribution
• Tail Contribution
– Horizontal Tail: Usually small contribution unless it
is comparable in size to the wing
– Vertical Tail
Dihedral Angle
Restoring Moment
Effect of Wing Dihedral Angle
Using strip theory, it can be shown that

2Г 𝑏Τ2
𝐶𝑙𝛽 =− න 𝑐 𝑦 𝑎0 𝑦 𝑦𝑑𝑦
Г 𝑆𝑤 𝑏 0

For a rectangular wing with a constant chord 𝑐 and a constant sectional lift-
curve slope 𝑎0 (constant airfoil section), it simplifies to

𝑎0 Г where 𝑎0 = 𝐶𝑙𝛼
𝐶𝑙𝛽 =−
Г 4 Г = 𝑑𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒

For a wing with taper ratio 𝜆

𝑎0 Г 2(1 + 2λ)
𝐶𝑙𝛽 =−
Г 4 3(1 + λ)
Wing Sweep
 Influence of Sweep on 𝐶𝑙𝛽
In general, the sweep-back has a stabilizing effect, and the sweep-forward
has the opposite or destabilizing effect.

Using strip theory, it can be shown that

𝑏
2𝑎0 𝑠𝑖𝑛Λ 𝐶𝐿 2 𝑠𝑒𝑐Λ
𝐶𝑙𝛽 = − න 𝑐 𝑦 𝑦 𝑑𝑦
Λ 𝑆𝑤 𝑏 0

provided 𝑎0 = 𝐶𝑙𝛼 is constant along the span

• Wing sweep-back has a stabilizing effect on static lateral stability. Its magnitude
depends on the wing leading-edge sweep angle and the lift coefficient or angle of
attack
• Forward sweep produces a destabilising effect
 Wing-Fuselage Interference

In positive sideslip for a high wing airplane the inboard sections of the right wing
experience a local upwash and an increase in angle of attack whereas the inboard
sections of the left wing experience a down wash and a decrease in angle of
attack.
 Wing-Fuselage Interference

𝐶𝑙𝛽 = − 0.0006 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔

𝑤𝑓𝑖

= 0.0000 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑑 − 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔

= + 0.0006 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔

Reference: Priestley, E.A. “A further investigation of lateral stability”

Aeronautical Research Council (U.K.) R & M 1989 (1941)
Rolling Moment by Vertical Tail

Low Angle of Attack

High Angle of Attack

Vertical Tail Contribution
 Vertical Tail Contribution
𝐿𝑣 = 𝑌𝑣 𝑧𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝛼𝑤 − 𝑙𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛼𝑤
= −𝐶𝐿𝛼𝑣 𝛽 + 𝜎 𝑄𝑣 𝑆𝑣 𝑧𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝛼𝑤 − 𝑙𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛼𝑤

𝐿𝑣 −𝐶𝐿𝛼𝑣 𝛽 + 𝜎 𝑄𝑣 𝑆𝑣 𝑧𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝛼𝑤 − 𝑙𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛼𝑤

𝐶𝑙𝑣 = =
𝑄𝑤 𝑆𝑤 𝑏 𝑄𝑤 𝑆𝑤 𝑏

𝑆𝑣 𝑧𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝛼𝑤 − 𝑙𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛼𝑤
= −𝐶𝐿𝛼𝑣 𝛽 + 𝜎 𝜂𝑣
𝑆𝑤 𝑏

𝜕𝜎 𝑆𝑣 𝑧𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝛼𝑤 − 𝑙𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛼𝑤
𝐶𝑙𝛽𝑣 = −𝐶𝐿𝛼𝑣 1 + 𝜂𝑣
𝜕𝛽 𝑆𝑤 𝑏

Usually, 𝑧𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝛼𝑤 > 𝑙𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛼𝑤 , so that 𝐶𝑙𝛽 < 0. Therefore, the contribution of
the vertical tail to lateral stability is generally stabilizing
 Remarks
• It is possible to have too much or too little
dihedral effect.
• This also means that in level flight, a small
amount of sideslip will cause the aircraft to
roll, and this can be annoying to the pilot. This
is known as a high 𝜑/𝛽 ratio
 Remarks
• In multi-engine aircraft, an engine failure will
normally produce a large sideslip angle. If the
aircraft has a great deal of dihedral effect, the
pilot must supply an excessive amount of
aileron force and deflection to overcome the
rolling moment due to sideslip
 Remarks
• The pilot wants a certain amount of dihedral
effect, but not too much. The end result is
usually a design compromise
 Selection of Dihedral Angle
• To arrive at the dihedral angle needed for an
airplane, the contributions due to wing sweep,
wing-fuselage interference and vertical tail are
first calculated
• Then, the difference between the sum of these
contributions and the desirable level of 𝐶𝑙𝛽 is
provided by choosing an appropriate dihedral
angle
• Previous reference provides a rough guideline as:
𝐶𝑛𝛽
𝐶𝑙𝛽 =−
𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 2
 Review : Directional Stability
• For static directional stability, 𝑪𝒏𝜷 must be
positive over the desired angle of attack and
speed range
• Generally, a value of 𝑪𝒏𝜷 between 0.0010 and
0.0025 is considered satisfactory
Anhedral

AV-8B Harrier II
 Example
For a low wing aircraft without sweepback, it is desired to have 𝐶𝑙𝛽 =
− 0.002 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑔. The contribution from the vertical tail to 𝐶𝑙𝛽 is −0.0004
𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑔. What should be the dihedral angle, given that 𝐶𝑙𝛼 = 4.50 𝑟𝑎𝑑 −1 and
taper ratio is 0.75.
𝐶𝑙𝛽 = 𝐶𝑙𝛽 + 𝐶𝑙𝛽 + 𝐶𝑙𝛽𝑣 + 𝐶𝑙𝛽
𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑓𝑖 Λ Г

−0.002 = .0006 + 0.000 − 0.0004 + 𝐶𝑙𝛽

Г

∴ 𝐶𝑙𝛽 = −0.0022 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑔

Г

𝑎0 Г 2 1 + 2𝜆 4.5 × Г 2 1 + 2 × 0.75
− =− = −0.0022 × 57.3
4 3 1+𝜆 4 3 1 + 0.75

Г = 0.117656 𝑟𝑎𝑑 = 6.740