Plasmech
23rd Mar 2011, 17:45
I've been wondering this for quite some time now...
During a turn, I fully understand that a component of the wing's lift is lateral while (normally) the majority of it stays vertical and holds altitude with proper back pressure. This "lateral" lift is what turns the aircraft...what changes its heading.
But why, during a bank, does the aircraft not simply move laterally, staying parallel to its original course? In other words, on a heading or 360 degrees magnetic, when one rotates the yoke to the right to a 30 degree bank, does the wing not simply pull the aircraft to a more easterly longitude while the magnetic heading stays the same?
Is the fact that the aircraft actually rotates about its vertical axis during a turn have something to do with where center of lift from the wings is in relation to the center of gravity?
Thanks for clarifying this. Nothing in my ground school seems to explain what actually causes the rotation.
During a turn, I fully understand that a component of the wing's lift is lateral while (normally) the majority of it stays vertical and holds altitude with proper back pressure. This "lateral" lift is what turns the aircraft...what changes its heading.
But why, during a bank, does the aircraft not simply move laterally, staying parallel to its original course? In other words, on a heading or 360 degrees magnetic, when one rotates the yoke to the right to a 30 degree bank, does the wing not simply pull the aircraft to a more easterly longitude while the magnetic heading stays the same?
Is the fact that the aircraft actually rotates about its vertical axis during a turn have something to do with where center of lift from the wings is in relation to the center of gravity?
Thanks for clarifying this. Nothing in my ground school seems to explain what actually causes the rotation.