MAE 4242 AIRCRAFT STABILITY & CONTROL

Directional Static Stability

(Nelson: 2.6)
Yongki Go

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Directional Static Stability Criterion
Aircraft Yawing Moment
Steady yawing moment of aircraft (N) about its CG is
affected by angle of sideslip (), rudder deflection (r), and
to some degree aileron deflection (a)
N ( , r , a ) or Cn ( , r , a ) in general nonlinear
Typically expressed using first-order Taylor series (linear):
Cn ( , r , a ) Cn0 Cn Cn r Cn a
r a

Cn Cn Cn
Cn Cn Cn
r
r a
a
When aircraft is in directional flight equilibrium:
N ( e , r , a ) 0 or Cn ( e , r , a ) 0
0 0 0 0

Usually achieved together with lateral flight equilibrium

The change in yawing moment due to changes in , r and a:
Cn ( , r , a ) Cn Cn r Cn a
r a
Stick-Fixed Yawing Moment
For stability analysis, aircraft is assumed in equilibrium
symmetric flight with stick-fixed condition r = a = 0
Equilibrium symmetric flight: = 0 Cn0 0
dCn
Cn ( ) Cn Cn
d

Cn nonlinear region
nose-right
trim point Cn

nose-left
Directional Static Stability Definition
Directional static stability concerns with the ability of the
aircraft to yaw or weathercock into wind in order to maintain
directional equilibrium
Directional statically stable aircraft generates restoring yawing
moment when disturbed from yaw equilibrium attitude (sideslip
disturbance) Sideslip disturbance

Restoring
yawing Directional
moment (+) statically stable
left right aircraft tends to
point into the
relative wind

Side force on Weathercock

vertical tail stability
Yaw equilibrium condition
Directional Static Stability Criterion
Yawing-moment response to angle-of-sideslip disturbance:
Cn ( ) Cn Cn ( ) Cn
For directional stability: Cn must have the same sign to
dCn
Criterion for directional static stability: Cn 0
d

Cn

Cn 0

Cn 0

Contribution of Aircraft Components to
Directional Static Stability
Wing Contribution
Contribution of wing to directional stability is small
compared to fuselage and vertical tail (fin)
Wing contribution on directional stability can be neglected in
the conceptual design phase
The main contribution from wing is due to wing sweep
angle Swept-back wing
improves directional static
stability
directionally stabilizing

Conversely, swept-forward
wing reduces directional
static stability
directionally destabilizing
Fuselage Contribution
Fuselage in general creates a destabilizing contribution to
directional stability

Fuselage contribution to
directional stability is
not usually estimated
alone, since it is
influenced by wing
geometry and wing
placement on the
fuselage
wing-fuselage
combination
Wing-Fuselage Contribution (1)
Empirical expression for wing-fuselage contribution:
S fs l f
Cn k N k Rl (per deg)
wf
Sb
k N , k Rl : empirical factors

V lf

k Rl
Wing-Fuselage Contribution (2)
Cn is typically a negative number
wf

Wing-fuselage is directionally destabilizing

Aircraft consisted of wing-fuselage combination alone is
directionally unstable
A directionally stabilizing component must be added to the
configuration to produce directionally stable aircraft
Vertical Tail Contribution (1)
When flying at sideslip, vertical tail produces side force that
generates restoring yawing moment

Local angle of
attack at the
vertical tail:
vt
Vertical Tail Contribution (2)
Yawing moment produced by vertical tail (assuming small
sideslip and sidewash angles):
cos( ) 1
Yvt Lvt cos( ) Lvt
Yvt CL vt qvt Svt CL ( )qvt Svt
vt vt
Nvt
where: qvt 12 Vvt
2

Svt : fin area

lvt
Lvt

Yvt N vt lvtYvt lvt CL ( )qvt Svt
vt
Vertical Tail Contribution (3)
Nondimensionalization:
N vt lvt Svt qvt
Cnvt CL
qw Sb Sb qw vt

By defining: Vvt lvt Svt : vertical-tail volume ratio

bS
qvt
vt : vertical-tail efficiency
qw
Cnvt Vvtvt CL
vt

Contribution to directional stability:
dCnvt d
Cn Vvtvt CL 1
vt
d vt
d
Sidewash factor
Vertical Tail Contribution (4)
Sidewash factor (d d ) is difficult to estimate precisely
Data usually obtained from wind-tunnel test
Contribution from the wing to sidewash factor is due to
asymmetric flow structure in yawing motion
More pronounced for low AR wings
Simple estimation (US Datcom):
Svt
3.06
d S zw
vt 1 0.724 0.4 0.009 ARw
d 1 cos c / 4w d

Typically: Cn 0
vt fuselage maximum
depth
Total Static Directional Stability
Total aircraft static directional stability (ignoring wing-
alone contribution and power effects):
Cn Cn Cn
wf vt

This directional stability is of stick-fixed type, since the

effect of free-floating rudder is not considered