Longitudinal stability

In flight dynamics, longitudinal stability is the stability of an aircraft in the longitudinal, or pitching, plane. This characteristic is important in determining whether an aircraft pilot will be able to control the aircraft in the pitching plane without requiring excessive attention or excessive strength.[1]

The longitudinal stability of an aircraft, also called pitch stability,[2] refers to the aircraft's stability in its plane of symmetry[2] about the lateral axis (the axis along the wingspan).[1] It is an important aspect of the handling qualities of the aircraft, and one of the main factors determining the ease with which the pilot is able to maintain level flight.[2]

Longitudinal static stability refers to the aircraft's initial tendency on pitching. Dynamic stability refers to whether oscillations tend to increase, decrease or stay constant.[3]

  1. ^ a b Clancy, Laurence J. (1978). "16". Aerodynamics. Pitman. ISBN 978-0-273-01120-0. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Phillips, Warren F. (2009-12-02). Mechanics of flight (Second ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey. ISBN 978-0-470-53975-0. OCLC 349248343.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ "Longitudinal dynamic stability" (PDF). Flightlab Ground School. Retrieved 29 June 2022.