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The center of gravity (CG) of an aircraft is the point over which the aircraft would balance. [1] Its position is calculated after supporting the aircraft on at least two sets of weighing scales or load cells and noting the weight shown on each set of scales or load cells. The center of gravity affects the stability of the aircraft.
The aerodynamic center is the point at which the pitching moment coefficient for the airfoil does not vary with lift coefficient (i.e. angle of attack), making analysis simpler. [ 1 ] d C m d C L = 0 {\displaystyle {dC_{m} \over dC_{L}}=0} where C L {\displaystyle C_{L}} is the aircraft lift coefficient .
The three axes of rotation in an aircraft. Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of gravity (cg), known as pitch, roll and yaw.
The motion is a rapid pitching of the aircraft about the center of gravity, essentially an angle-of-attack variation. The short-period mode is an oscillation with a period of only a few seconds that is usually heavily damped by the existence of lifting surfaces far from the aircraft’s center of gravity, such as a horizontal tail or canard.
Most conventional aircraft have positive longitudinal stability, providing the aircraft's center of gravity lies within the approved range. The operating handbook for every airplane specifies a range over which the center of gravity is permitted to move. [8] If the center of gravity is too far aft, the aircraft will be unstable.
The yaw axis has its origin at the center of gravity and is directed towards the bottom of the aircraft, perpendicular to the wings and to the fuselage reference line. Motion about this axis is called yaw. A positive yawing motion moves the nose of the aircraft to the right. [1] [2] The rudder is the primary control of yaw. [3]
Aircraft engineers develop control systems for a vehicle's orientation about its center of gravity. The control systems include actuators, which exert forces in various directions, and generate rotational forces or moments about the center of gravity of the aircraft, and thus rotate the aircraft in pitch, roll, or yaw.
Trim drag, denoted as Dm in the diagram, is the component of aerodynamic drag on an aircraft created by the flight control surfaces, [1] mainly elevators and trimable horizontal stabilizers, when they are used to offset changes in pitching moment and centre of gravity during flight.