Dihedral Angle & StabilityThe dihedral angle is the upward angle from horizontal of the wings.
The opposite angle, is the anhedral angle, which is the downward angle from horizontal of the wings.
Dihedral angle is important for stabilizing effects because it influence`s the dihedral effect, which is the amount of roll movement that is produced per degree. Increasing the dihedral angle means increasing the dihedral effect. The dihedral effect is an important factor when it comes to the stability of an aircraft about the roll axis. The roll axis is the axis controlled by the ailerons of an aircraft. Roll is illustrated by holding the aircraft by the nose and tail. Dropping either wingtip is the roll movement. For information on Longitudinal Dihedral visit: http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/166667-longitudinal-dihedral.html "Stability is the tendency of an airplane in flight to remain in straight, level, upright flight and to return to this attitude, if displaced, without corrective action by the pilot"(Allstar,2008). There are two parts to stability; Static stability and Dynamic stability.Static stability is the tendency of an airplane to return to the original position, if disturbed. Dynamic stability is the overall tendency of an airplane to return to its original position, following a series of damped out oscillations. |