Control reversal: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:27, 20 July 2008

Revision as of 16:07, 29 October 2008

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The [[Boeing B-47]] was speed limited at low altitudes because the large, flexible wings would cancel out the effect of the control surfaces under some circumstances.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

Due to the unusually high speeds that the [[Supermarine Spitfire]] could be dived at, this problem of aileron reversal became apparent when it was wished to increase the lateral manouverabilitymaneuverability (rate of roll) by increasing the aileron area. The aircraft had a wing designed originally for an aileron reversal airspeed of 580 [[Miles per hour|mph]], and any attempt to increase the aileron area would have resulted in the wing twisting when the larger ailerons were applied at high speed, the aircraft then rolling in the opposite direction to that intended by the pilot. The problem of increasing the rate of roll was temporarily alleviated with the introduction of "clipped" wing tips (to reduce the aerodynamic load on the tip area, allowing larger ailerons to be used) until a new, stiffer wing could be incorporated. This new wing was introduced in the [[Supermarine_Spitfire_variants_part_two#Mk.C2.A021_.28type_356.29|Mark XXI]] and had a theoretical aileron reversal speed of {{convert|825|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}.

Finally the [[Wright Brothers]] suffered yet another form of control reversal, one normally referred to as [[adverse yaw]]. In their [[1902 glider]] they continued to encounter a problem where the glider would roll in one direction but yaw in the reverse direction, then spin into the ground. They eventually cured the problem by adding a movable [[rudder]] system, now found on all aircraft.