Lateral Stability
Stability about the aircraft’s longitudinal axis, which extends from the nose of the aircraft to its tail, is called lateral stability. There are four main design factors that make an aircraft laterally stable: dihedral, sweepback, keel effect, and weight distribution.
Dihedral
Some aircraft are designed so that the outer tips of the wings are higher than the wing roots. The upward angle thus formed by the wings is called dihedral. When a gust causes a roll, a sideslip will result. This sideslip causes the relative wind affecting the entire airplane to be from the direction of the slip. When the relative wind comes from the side, the wing slipping into the wind is subject to an increase in angle of attack and develops an increase in lift. The wing away from the wind is subject to a decrease in angle of attack, and develops a decrease in lift. The changes in lift effect a rolling moment tending to raise the windward wing, hence dihedral contributes to a stable roll due to sideslip
Sweepback
A sweptback wing is one in which the leading edge slopes backward. When a disturbance causes an aircraft with sweepback to slip or drop a wing, the low wing presents its leading edge at an angle that is more perpendicular to the relative airflow. As a result, the low wing acquires more lift, rises, and the aircraft is restored to its original flight attitude.
Keel Effect and Weight Distribution
A high wing aircraft always has the tendency to turn the longitudinal axis of the aircraft into the relative wind, which is often referred to as the keel effect. These aircraft are laterally stable simply because the wings are attached in a high position on the fuselage, making the fuselage behave like a keel exerting a steadying influence on the aircraft laterally about the longitudinal axis. When a high-winged aircraft is disturbed and one wing dips, the fuselage weight acts like a pendulum returning the aircraft to the horizontal level. Laterally stable aircraft are constructed so that the greater portion of the keel area is above the CG. Thus, when the aircraft slips to one side, the combination of the aircraft’s weight and the pressure of the airflow against the upper portion of the keel area (both acting about the CG) tends to roll the aircraft back to wings-level flight.
