Are "lower-fixed-wings" aircrafts (like B737) or "upper-fixed-wings" aircrafts (like AvroJet) more stable?

Question

Are "lower-fixed-wings" aircrafts (like B737) or "upper-fixed-wings" aircrafts (like AvroJet) more stable?

Answer 1

Neither really.  Both designs are required to meet certification requirements for stability.

That being said, it is easier to make a high wing stable than a low wing (which usually requires more dihedral).  Large high wing aircraft like the AvroJet use an anhedral (wings drooping down) to REDUCE the stability to make it more controllable.

Answer 2

It depends on what kind of stability you are talking of. For lateral stability, high-wings make the plane more stable compared to low-wings.

Answer 3

In general high wing aircraft are more stable, but some like the Mitsubishi mu-2 are not because they use spoilerons which make them really really prone to going out of control past a certain angle of bank.

It also depends on the amount of dihedral, or the angle at which the wing is slanted upward from the body. High wing planes dont need this, and it gives low wings planes a closer amount of stability to a high wing plane.

If you look out your window on a 737 youll notice that the tip of the wing is about the same height or even higher than the windows, thats dihedral.

One of the disadvantages of a low wing is that it can be put into whats called a dutch roll, which is a uncontrolled yawing and rolling caused by differences in lift between the wings.

When a low wing aircraft yaws, the fuselage disturbs the airflow over the wing that is into the yaw, which will cause it to roll in that direction, which can either lead to rolling the aircraft completely over or cause it to yaw side to side uncontrollably.