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This question explains that an aircraft can be statically stable (it will seek to return to equilibrium) but dynamically unstable (the amplitude of the oscillations increase) if there isn't enough damping in the stability equation.

That's fine from a mathematical point of view, but what practical change would increase the damping and dynamic stability?

I've seen quite a few radio-control trainers that are dynamically unstable, and would love to know how to fix the problem so that they're easier for the student pilot to fly.

These planes typically pull out of a dive on their own, but then climb excessively and stall, leading to another dive. Each subsequent stall and dive is more dramatic than the last.

Robin Bennett
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    The old saw is to move weight forward. The ASE explanation generally involves torque around the CG. Keeping wing CP aft of CG would help control rise of nose as lift increases (because the wing actually torque the nose down). Additionally, more of the wing now functions as a "tail" (stabilizing area behind the CG). From work with model gliders, essentially the wing is too large/strong for its "tail". One must be wary of excessive stability, which makes it harder to pull out of a dive. – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 08 '21 at 10:53
  • @RobertDiGiovanni - Isn't that just static stability? I'm talking about planes that pull out of dive on their own, but then climb excessively and stall, leading to another dive. – Robin Bennett Jan 08 '21 at 11:26
  • Not really, it depends whether or not the wing is lifting the nose or the tail is pushing down. I can see how swept wings really drive engineers batty, particularly when slats are deployed. Moving CP too far can make control difficult, especially with a smaller tail. – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 08 '21 at 11:30
  • @RobertDiGiovanni - Can you explain how that is different from static stability? – Robin Bennett Jan 08 '21 at 11:53
  • I've seen in claimed that moving the CG forward can actually make dynamic instability worse, because more decalage (download on tail) is needed. I don't know the truth of that. A good place to seek further discussion would be this on-line forum -- https://www.rcgroups.com/modeling-science-136/ – quiet flyer Jan 08 '21 at 14:06
  • @Robin Bennett the difference is that both seek the original flight path, dynamicly unstable increasingly overshoot it (a little like Dutch Roll in pitch). Again with swept wings, tips deteriorate first when higher AOA is reached, adding to nose up forces (if wing is lifting the nose) quiet flyers point is also valid, but excessive differential of CP and CG is the root cause. Notice how how slats deployed might make it harder to pull out of dive (with swept wings and forward CG). – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 08 '21 at 14:29
  • @quiet flyer your suggestion to open spoilers is interesting as it "weakens" the wing a bit. Dropping gear would lower CG and center of drag (canceling pitch effect), but Bob Hoover liked it for spins. – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 08 '21 at 14:36
  • If you're talking about R/C airplanes, aerodynamics per se, is fine, but what comes to my minds eye are scale issues like (i) power/thrust to weight ratio for these R/C trainers surely affect how they fly, and the way they have to be flown, (ii) being small and lightweight, the destabilizing factors such as wind gusts could typically engulf the whole airplane. (iii) speed to size ratio? A 170ft long fuselage travels 3 fuselage lengths per sec at 300kts (507fps) whereas a 3ft long R/C model at 60kts(101fps) is already 33 fuselage lengths per sec. Are these factors relevant enough? – skipper44 Jan 08 '21 at 17:58
  • @skipper44 no they are not. Books could be written about the subject, but there are similarities even in scale. There is a relationship of tail torque and wing torque. Speed control is critical (look at quiet flyers suggestion to drop gear and use spoilers). You would help yourself as an engineer to look for similarities throughout scale. But I would agree that the question could be more specific to one type of aircraft. – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 08 '21 at 19:31
  • @RobertDiGiovanni - If you want a specific aircraft, the Multiplex EasyStar is a good example. It was the most popular electric trainer for years and has been widely copied. It's easy to make statically stable, but usually dynamically unstable. – Robin Bennett Jan 09 '21 at 10:40
  • @Robin Bennett Yes, that one will require downtrim as speed increases, much like a 172 going into cruise. Note that downthrust helps some, but, like most models, it may be a bit overpowered. Many novice modelers fly (and land) way too fast. Interesting in that the discussion is leading to speed V = thrust - drag, and lift is proportional to V$^2$!. I might try that plane. Thanks. – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 09 '21 at 11:27
  • It the plane pitches up until it stalls, it is statically unstable (if the CoG is behind neutral point, but still ahead of midchord, the plane becomes stable in stall and pitches down, which allows repeating the cycle). In dynamic instability the plane flies up and down, but the angle of attack remains fairly constant, so it should result in a sine wave growing in amplitude with tops just as smooth as the bottoms. – Jan Hudec Jan 09 '21 at 20:24
  • @Jan Hudec "flies up and down, but AOA remains constant" would imply changes in velocity (less static stability). There is also a short period oscillation, where increasing wing lift tries to pull into a loop (increasing AoA of downlifting tail faster than the stabilizing forces (tail, aft fuselage area) can stop it). These two aspects make it interesting and delightfully confusing. – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 09 '21 at 23:44
  • @RobertDiGiovanni, it implies changes in velocity, but that says nothing about static stability, only about a lack of damping, that is dynamic stability. – Jan Hudec Jan 10 '21 at 14:55

2 Answers2

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Damping is produced by drag and by large induced speeds at the tail surfaces from a given disturbance. This can be caused by long lever arms of these surfaces or by high air density.

More on the topic can be found here:

These planes typically pull out of a dive on their own, but then climb excessively and stall …

This is the classic long period mode in longitudinal stability. Since rotation rates are low, pitch damping also is low and the most important damping contribution is from drag. A low L/D reduces the tendency to overshoot, a high trim speed reduces the tendency to stall (and shifts the motion to higher speeds with lower L/D). Reducing static stability will make the period longer such that it becomes easier for the pilot to react. However, lower stability will make the pitch response more sensitive which increases the risk of too large control inputs.

Peter Kämpf
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  • That certainly matches the planes I've seen. The ones that were dynamically unstable were efficient glider style planes, while basic boxy designs with fixed gear were much more stable. Also, learning to fly in this sort of trainer usually involves the student's response time improving with practice until they no longer have POI - usually only an hour or two of flight time but it would be nice to skip that stage! – Robin Bennett Jan 08 '21 at 15:48
  • You mean Pilot Induced Oscillation? – skipper44 Jan 08 '21 at 17:20
  • @skipper44 Yes, that's why I linked to the Wikipedia page for pilot induced oscillation. – Peter Kämpf Jan 08 '21 at 18:16
  • @PeterKämpf - you and I both miss-typed PIO as POI – Robin Bennett Jan 09 '21 at 10:36
  • @RobinBennett Thank you for spotting this! Corrected. I wonder how that happened. – Peter Kämpf Jan 09 '21 at 12:52
  • @Peter Kampf working with the aviation engineer speak we arrive at: relaxing static stability reduces dynamic instability as a result of large variation in velocity! Indeed common to model aircraft and large airliners alike! – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 09 '21 at 15:20
  • @Robin Bennett so we must choose one or the other with the Multiplex Easy Star. I might favor static stability and learn to use that trim tab. – Robert DiGiovanni Jan 09 '21 at 15:22
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These planes typically pull out of a dive on their own, but then climb excessively and stall, leading to another dive.

R/C flying can be started at an early age and gives any potential pilot a huge head start in gaining experience in the all important fundamentals of flight.

A lesson in the importance of keeping CG within the specified range (and the consequences of not) is better learned at model, rather than full scale.

Not paying attention to aft CG limits (weight too far back) will reduce directional stability in pitch and yaw. It will roll 360 beautifully, but only because the tail will constantly try to drop throughout the roll, always raising the nose. In general the aircraft will be more maneuverable, but harder to control. (This is why modern military aircraft use computers to assist stability).

Among the plethora of bad things (such as stalling low and slow) that can happen, dynamic instability is another consequence of out of range CG. Especially with models, a fraction of an inch can matter.

But if you build from scratch, it is important to properly match the tail and wing. Amazingly, a horizontal "stabilizer" destabilizes pitch when a plane rises or sinks vertically. This is a very important aspect of static stability.

Rising or sinking vertically is a function of lift. Therefor, excessive lift can cause a plane to "overshoot" its correction to original flight path. An extreme example of this is a loop.

So we generally design the wing Center of Pressure to be aft of the Center of Gravity so the torque of the wing lift around the center of gravity helps control the pitching tendency when lift is increased.

The further back the center of gravity, the greater the pitching tendency will be.

For custom scratch builders, a larger tail or longer tail moment is an option, but remember, if the tail supports weight, you are essentially building a bi-plane.

Robert DiGiovanni
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