Flack Generator

[Yarbles]

Obviously I know what the rudder is for and when to use it but someone asked me "What,s the rudder for and when do you use it ?" the other day and I had difficulty putting the answer into words. I wonder if anyone on here could explain so I can pass on the info to the ignoramous concerned?  

[B@tfinkV]

the rudder is used to control horizontal yaw. in other words it means the rudder is your 3rd dimension.  you have climb/dive,  roll, and yaw.


Rudders are essential for keep control of your aircraft during abstract manouvers, and especially for gunnery.


imagine you have your crosshair almost on your target, but you are aiming slightly to the left. rather than roll right, pull back on the elevators, then roll left again to move your crosshair onto the target, you can simply apply right rudder to 'yaw' the nose of your aircraft into the correct possition in a matter of nano seconds.


takeoffs and landings, rudder is often needed to counter the torque of more powerfull machines, and also to 'side slip' (flying at an offcenter angle by use of hard rudder and opposite aileron) and lose speed on final approaches... or during a fight to force an enemy to overshoot...or holding course against a strong wind....or....or....well, the list goes on.


during a slow speed flat turn to the left, right rudder should be applied to stabalise the angle of attack and so as not to lose altitude that needn't be lost.


Stalls.   you're lost with no rudder in high stall turns and ropes (climbing to the very limit of the engines power before flipping the aircraft 180degs and diving out again, etc)



there are many uses for the rudder on an aircraft, and there are many manouvers and tactics that would be impossible without one.


my advice would be to go offline or in the TA and practice AOA (angle of attack) manipulation. try flying full rudder and opposite ailerons as the most basic exercise, and keeping the aircraft in a steep side slip whilst going in a straight line and not losing or gaining altitude.



know your rudder, love your rudder, run home when your rudder gets shot off.

[47Hooker]

The rudder is used to control the direction of the aircraft's nose, left or right, called yaw.  Just like a boat, hence the shared name of rudder.   It is normally used along with ailerons (control roll) and elevator (control pitch) to maintain the aircraft in trim while turning.   Your best instrument to help you maintain this trim is your turn coordinator (a.k.a. turn and slip).  It's the one with a needle in the middle that points left and right during a turn.  Lining the needle up on the face marking (left or right) gives you a "standard rate" of turn. (some are 2 min. some are 3 min.)  Keeping it on the center mark means you are flying straight.  The ball "level" in the lower portion tells you if your plane is slipping (sliding to the inside of the turn) or skidding (sliding to the outside of the turn).   Keeping this ball in the middle, between the two lines, keeps your aircraft in a true, trimed turn.   An easy way to remember is : "Step on the ball".  Meaning, if the ball is to the left, step on the left rudder pedal.  If the ball is to the right, step on the right rudder pedal.

You can also use it to puposely throw the aircraft out of trim, such as slipping to loose altitude without a huge gain in airspeed.   If you are on final and are too high,  you can roll slightly to one side and apply OPPOSITE rudder....this throws the aircraft way out of trim and will result in a high sink rate.   DO NOT try that on a mid or high wing airplane will flaps extended!  It can cause you to roll inverted.

Also, you can use rudder for an elevator.  (and elevator for rudder).    Roll the plane 90 degrees and stabilize.  If your plane has a big enough rudder and enough thrust, you can maintain level flight (even climb) while on your side.  This is known as "knife edge".

Hope this helps.



(((edit)))  B@tfinkV:  Wasn't jumping in your reply, I was typing while you were posting.  You covered the tactical side of rudder use well.

[B@tfinkV]

i know the feeling, it took me about 15 mins to type all that slang advice, excelent post sir!

[Yarbles]

Originally posted by B@tfinkV
i know the feeling, it took me about 15 mins to type all that slang advice, excelent post sir!

The least I can do then is spend a couple of seconds saying thanks to you both.