MAE 4242 AIRCRAFT STABILITY & CONTROL

Lateral Static Stability

(Nelson: 2.8)
Yongki Go

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Lateral Static Stability Criterion
Aircraft Rolling Moment
Steady rolling moment of aircraft (L) about its CG is affected
by angle of sideslip (), aileron deflection (a), and to some
degree rudder deflection (r)
L( , a , r ) or Cl ( , a , r )
Typically expressed using first-order Taylor series (linear):
Cl ( , a , r ) Cl0 Cl Cl a Cl r
a r

Cl Cl Cl
Cl Cl Cl
a
a r
r
When aircraft is in lateral flight equilibrium:
L( e , a , r ) 0 or Cl ( e , a , r ) 0
0 0 0 0

Usually achieved together with directional flight equilibrium

The change in rolling moment due to changes in , a and r:
Cl ( , a , r ) Cl Cl a Cl r
a r
Stick-Fixed Rolling Moment
For stability analysis, aircraft is assumed in equilibrium
symmetric flight with stick-fixed condition r = a = 0
Equilibrium symmetric flight: = 0
dCl
Cl ( ) Cl Cl
d

Cl
right-wing
down

0
left-wing Cl
down
Lateral Static Stability Definition
Lateral static stability concerns with the ability of the aircraft
to maintain wings level attitude after disturbance
Lateral statically stable aircraft generates restoring rolling
moment (in the opposite direction) when disturbed from wings
level attitude (bank angle disturbance)
Force imbalance at nonzero bank angle
rolling moment
Bank angle disturbance ~ sideslip disturbance
L L2
L1

W
Lateral Static Stability Illustration
Rear view

Restoring
rolling
moment ()
generated

(+) Amplifying
rolling
moment (+)
generated
Lateral Static Stability Criterion (1)
Rolling-moment response to angle-of-sideslip disturbance:
Cl ( ) Cl
For lateral stability: Cl must have opposite sign to
dCl
Criterion for lateral static stability: Cl 0
d
Lateral Static Stability Criterion (2)
More negative Cl indicates more statically stable aircraft in
the lateral sense
Aircraft components that are the main contributors to lateral
static stability:
Wing dihedral
Wing sweep
Fuselage-wing relative position/placement
Vertical tail
Contribution of Aircraft Components to
Lateral Static Stability
Dihedral Effect (1)
Dihedral angle (): spanwise inclination of the wing with
respect to horizontal

Positive dihedral (dihedral) Negative dihedral (anhedral)

Aerodynamic moment effect of dihedral angle: dihedral

effect
Dihedral effect is major contributor to lateral static stability
In the presence of sideslip, dihedral angle leads to different
lifts between left and right wings
Dihedral Effect (2)
Aerodynamic mechanism:
Rear view:
Induced
rolling
moment

Assume small angles:

v V sin V : velocity due to sideslip
Component of v normal to the wing: vn v sin v V
v V
Local change in angle of attack:
u V
For positive dihedral: > 0 for downward-moving wing
< 0 for upward-moving wing
Rolling moment opposing the rolling disturbance
Wing Sweep Effect
In sideslip motion, wing sweep angle causes lift imbalance
between left and right wings, which induces rolling moment

Top view: Only Vn determines the lift

For swept-back wing in positive

sideslip :
Vn(right wing) > Vn(left wing)

Lift (right wing) > Lift (left wing)

Negative rolling moment

Swept-back lateral static stability

Swept-forward lateral static stability
Fuselage-Wing Relative Placement Effect
Effect of fuselage alone on lateral static stability is negligible
However, wing relative position on the fuselage has
significant contribution to lateral static stability
Contribution is hard to estimate analytically

High wing:
Stabilizing rolling moment is
Front view:
generated in sideslip

Low wing:
rolling moment
is generated in sideslip
Vertical Tail Contribution (1)
In sideslip motion, vertical tail generates side force
This side force generally acts above or below the aircraft
longitudinal axis rolling moment generated

Rolling moment arm of

side force,

zvt zvt
Lvt zvtYvt lvtYvt N vt
lvt lvt
zvt Since Cn 0 :
Cl Cn vt

vt
lvt vt - top-side fin: laterally
- bottom-side fin: laterally
Lateral-directional coupling
Vertical Tail Contribution (2)
Note: rolling moment arm of the side force from vertical tail
is affected by angle of attack
Usually smaller at higher angle of attack
Vertical tail contribution to static lateral stability is less
effective at high angles of attack

Low angle of attack

High angle of attack

Total Static Lateral Stability
Total aircraft static lateral stability can be expressed as :
Cl Cl Cl Cl
w wf vt

No accurate analytical
prediction available

Use empirical data or