PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - dihedral and swept back lateral stability
Old 23rd Aug 2011, 20:41
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Mad (Flt) Scientist
 
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If the question is about dihedral effect - i.e. Cl-beta (or lv in proper British notation) - and how that varies with configuration, then the roll attitude of the aircraft is irrelevant. As long as there is no sideslip present, the contribution to rolling moment due to the dihedral effect will be precisely, necessarily, zero. The aerodynamics acting on the wing have no knowledge of, or care for, the local gravity vector.

The dihedral effect becomes associated in pilot's minds with a banked condition because the banked condition is "trimmed", in the sense that the aircraft is in equilibrium, in most cases discussed. In order to obtain an equilibrium condition in banked flight it is typically necessary to impose some amount of sideslip on the aircraft, and it is that sideslip which triggers the dihedral effect. But the sideslip is, in principle, independent of bank angle, unless additional constraints are imposed.
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