I recently watched Neil deGrasse Tyson explains modern airplanes doing turns and how the fluid level wouldn’t change inside the cabin when turning.
Video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3SCxKTnC5YE
I’ve tried observing this myself and it didn’t always work as described. Reminder: you should still hang on to your drink just in case.
The comment section below the video mentions something called a “coordinated turn”.
What is it? When do pilots perform coordinated turns? Presumably a set velocity is required to achieve this for a given banking angle?
In: 2
> I’ve tried observing this myself and it didn’t always work as described.
Where did you try this? On a plane? Because early student pilots are stereotypically not so great at maintaining coordination. 😀
Starting from straight-and-level flight, if you just use the ailerons to bank the airplane, the ailerons deflecting up and down on opposite wings cause more drag on the aileron down, because it’s producing more lift and thus more drag. This is known as **adverse yaw** and tends to pull the nose in the opposite direction. To maintain coordination, the pilot (and/or the airplane systems) need to apply rudder to keep the yawing in the right way.
Uncoordinated flight in a turn is either **skidding** or **slipping**. In this case the airplane is moving somewhat left or right, presenting the side of the airplane to the airflow, resulting in a lot more drag.
Among the flight instruments, there is a **slip-skid indicator** that measures relative G-forces going left or right. In a coordinated, banked turn, this is zeroed out with the rudder.
https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/airplane_handbook/04_afh_ch3.pdf I think is the most direct, but the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and the Airplane Flying Handbook available from the FAA have the basics of aerodynamics too: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation
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