Originally posted by LtPillur
The slip indicator is part of the turn and bank indicator. It is the "bubble" or ball in the bottom. When the ball is to the right outside of the lines you are slipping to the right. And left means..well you are slipping to the left.
Peace
Pillur
That's close, but not 100% accurate. The indicator we are discussing is known as the ball bank indicator, it provides Slip and Skid information about aircraft in flight. the reason I originally raised the question was I thought it strange that HTC didn't call the instrument by it's correct name and LtPillur, there is a difference between a slip and a skid in an aircraft. Do you know the difference? I do.
Needle, Ball and Airspeed. The basics of flight. but not every aircraft needed a turn and bank indicator. But all aircraft were required to have a ball. (why is that) Only aircraft used for instrument flight were required to have a turn and bank indicator(that’s a clue). The purpose of the ball was to prevent one thing, cross controlled stalls. The ball helped the pilot recognize a slip or a skid and correct for it. As to how a skid differs from a slip, I’ll let you bright guys figure that one out on your own, a little research is very educational.
Also Gliders and F14 TomCats do use yarn. The F14 also has the ball, but most gliders don't. And if you didn't khow it, a glider is always crossed controled when soaring.