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Aircraft Yaw
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Glenn
Research
Center
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One of the major breakthroughs of the Wright brothers was the ability
to
control
and maneuver their
aircraft.
The first aircraft to achieve complete control in all three directions
was the
1902 aircraft
which is shown in this animation.
The animation demonstrates the yaw motion of the aircraft.
This is characterized by a side to side movement of the aircraft nose.
The Wright brothers achieved yaw control by a movable
rudder
placed at the rear of the aircraft. The
angle of attack
of the rudder could be changed by the pilot in flight by means of
cables connected to a hip cradle on the 1902 and 1903 aircraft.
The motion of the rudder was coordinated with the
wing warping
to keep the nose pointed along the flight path during turns.
You can view a short
movie
of "Orville and Wilbur Wright" explaining how the rudder
was used to control the yaw of their aircraft. The movie file can
be saved to your computer and viewed as a Podcast on your podcast player.
Navigation..
- Re-Living the Wright Way
- Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics
- NASA Home Page
- http://www.nasa.gov
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