Originally Posted by
Vessbot
...the simple rotation is still there underneath, dominating the total motion, so a constant-rate spinning ball is still a correct first-order approximation that serves just fine as a model. (And ultimately everything we talk about is models, unless you endeavor to calculate the individual movement of all the atoms of the messy system, every time you talk about anything.)
I think you've hit the nail on the head there mate. We all agree that saying phase lag happens due to gyroscopic precession or that helicopters behave
like gyroscopes is close enough for the average student, but it's still an
approximation. After all, it's getting the concept and theory across in a digestible and understandable form for the student that matters. "Lies to children" as Scott Manley would put it.