Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

3 Answers

Dihedral + Lateral Stability

Asked by: 3243 views Aerodynamics

Hi AskACFI, I am finding it extremely difficult to visualize how dihedral designs improve lateral stability. I understand: 1. Dihedral angle is the angle that each wing makes with the horizontal. 2. If a disturbance causes one wing to drop, the unbalanced force produces a sideslip in the direction of the downgoing wing. I am confused: How does the flow of air strike the lower wing at a greater angle of attack than in strikes the upper wing?  

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

3 Answers



  1. Dan S. on Jun 27, 2015

    Take a look at pages 300-303 in Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators, for a good explanation and diagram. It has to do with a temporary change in lift vector for the up going wing vs the down going wing. Just do a google search and you can read the applicable pages.

    -1 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 1 Votes



  2. KiwiInstructor on Jul 02, 2015

    stability is a pain to teach yet alone explain without pictures, if your really interested find yourself an instructor and a whiteboard 😉

    -2 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 2 Votes



  3. Thomas Hoshino on Sep 11, 2015

    When the airplane banks without turning, it enters a sideslip condition. What this means is that the relative wind takes on a parallel and opposite component to this motion. visualize looking down the longitudinal axis of the banked aircraft. Ignoring the forward velocity, imagine a vector showing the aircraft\’s slipping motion in the direction of bank extending from the axis. The new component of relative wind is equal and opposite this sideslip vector. Note the angle the relative wind makes with each wing and it will be apparent that the lowered wing experiences a higher angle of attack and the raised wing has either a neutral or negative AoA depending on the exact direction of the relative wind.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.