In aeronautics, the static stability of an aircraft is highly dependent on the neutral point and the center of gravity of the craft. The general concept of moments is applied since the tippling off of the craft usually applies the principle of moments (free-online-private-pilot-ground-school.com).
The center of gravity has the greatest effect on the flight of any aircraft including missiles. The main aspect to consider in any case is the distance between the neutral point of aircraft and its neutral point and the distance between the missile centre of gravity and its neutral pressure point (free-online-private-pilot-ground-school.com). This shows that center of gravity (single point in a body where all its weight seems to act) of any airborne object has direct implications on the flight of the body.
Looking at the effect of the centre of gravity on the stability of an aircraft, it is directly evident that the stability is dependent on the distance between the centre of gravity and the neutral point of the plane. Basically, any airborne device has both the dynamic and the static stability (free-online-private-pilot-ground-school.com).
Under static stability, a plane can have positive static stability, negative static stability or longitudinal stability. An aircraft is said to have a positive stability if a change in its speed and orientation acts so as to restore the original speed and orientation. This is analogous to stable equilibrium state where any force on an object acts in a way to restore the stability of the object (stable equilibrium). Applying the same analogy, we can detect the outcome of unstable equilibrium state in the aircraft which is denoted as negative static stability. It simply means that a change in speed and orientation of an airborne body that encourages further deviation from the original pathway of the body resulting in a completely new path followed. Longitudinal stability on the other hand defines the stability of an aircraft in relation to the pitching plane. This is defined by the position of the nose of an aircraft in relation to its tail and horizon. If the angle of attack is slightly increased, the pitching moment of the plane is changed making the plane to respond by reducing the pitching angle (Clancy, 24). Some of the less covered stability modes which are also not very relevant are the directional and the lateral stability modes. These two can be defined from the names given.
If the centre of gravity is changed in a plane or any airborne body to reduce the distance between the neutral point and the centre of gravity, the static stability of the aircraft is highly increased. This results in high adaptability of the plane to different orientations and pathways making it very easy to trace and control the aircraft as well as trace the possible obstacles in the pathway of the aircraft even before it encounters the obstacle (Clancy, 26).
If the distance between the C.O.G and the neutral point is increased, then the stability is reduced making the aircraft much vulnerable to crushing or even problems in adaptation to pathways. As a result, the aircraft easily loses trace when trying to adapt to different orientations (Hurt, 112).
Center of gravity also greatly affects the take off of the plane. This is closely related to longitudinal stability. The nose of the plane has rotors which displace the air making the nose to have ‘reduced’ weight compared to the tail. This increases the angle of attack making it possible for the aircraft to take off. The neutral point which is essentially the center of lift acts as the pivot and the moments on the nose’ side is reduced making the aircraft to tend to tipple lowering the tail. The aircraft acquires an angle of take off (Hurt, 126).
During landing, the lateral, longitudinal and vertical stabilities play a vital role. This is because the vertical stability makes it possible to move the craft down almost to the ground. The angle of attack is made slightly negative and then positive. This makes it possible for the aircraft to land with the rear part first then the front (Perkins, 56).
During cruise, the important stabilities are the longitudinal, lateral and vertical. This helps define the path followed by the plane. Dynamic stability also plays a very important role by ensuring that the aircraft does not roll during the flight (Clancy, 36).
Works cited.
Clancy, L. 1975. Aerodynamics. London: Pitman Publishing Limited.
Perkins, C. 1949. Airplane Performance Stability and Control. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Chapter 5.
Hurt, H. 1960. Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators Chapter 4. A National Flight shop Reprint, Florida.
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