Can airplanes turn left or right using only ailerons?

Question

Can they make a 90 degree turn by using only ailerons?

Answer 1

yes, but if no additional elevator input is added the vertical component of lift will not be enough to support the weight of the aircraft and it will start a descending turn.  As you descend (with the same power setting) your airspeed will increase and the total lift will increase again.

So the turn will be an uncoordinated descent with pretty major airspeed fluctuations if you plan to only use the ailerons.  Good luck!

EDIT:  I must have missed something... does a plane not turn because of the horizontal component of lift?  If I asked you how to increase angle of attack would you say ailerons?

Answer 2

The answer is yes and no. While theoretically the ailerons can be used exclusively to turn an aircraft, the turn will  be neither coordinated nor level. In order  to make a level turn safely, all four components  of  aircraft control must be used to maintain  proper control.

For example, if you roll the aircraft to the left without making any other inputs, several things will occur:

  

        -The aircraft will pitch down because a portion of the lift force is now working in the horizontal plane, rather than the vertical. This will cause a loss of altitude and increase in airspeed.

        -The aircraft will yaw to the right causing uncoordinated flight. This can create (if in excess and in the right circumstances) a potential stall situation.

        -Depending on the degree of roll, if no other input is made, the roll will increase or decrease.

Answer 3

yes

for the other people planes can turn at 90 degrees bank in level flight but the  weight of the plane will have to be supported by the thrust  and the very small amount of upward force generated by the airframe (lift by definition acts at right angles to the cord line of the wing)

Answer 4

Cherokeeflyer, the question was about ailerons and the answer is yes. I was really surprised by your answer.

It wont be a level coordinated turn, but it is a turn nonetheless and it is done by ailerons alone.

For Nick: Nothing turns 90 degrees at a time.

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Cherokeeflyer, my mistake and apologies. It never occurred to me that "get a grip" was an ID...

Answer 5

No.

Ailerons work along the longitudinal axis. They only roll the plane.

Rudder does not turn a plane. The rudder co-ordinates during a turn.

In order for a plane to turn in the direction of the roll you must use co-ordinated inputs of aileron. rudder and elevator.

What actually makes a plane turn is the elevator.

A plane can roll but still go straight. Watch aerobatic aircraft.

We use all inputs most of the time to achieve the desired results. They can do a knife edge which is 90 degrees to the horizon and still go straight.

A loop is just using the elevator but is a turn.

Ailerons cannot make a plane turn 90 by themselves.

Cherokee is thinking 2d only. Maybe not even thinking here.

Every turn needs back pressure. And that comes from guess where.

If you had experience in the full envelope of an aircraft you may one day understand.

The primary controls are the second night of ground school.

Get a refresher.

Answer 6

No plane makes a 90 degree turn.

Answer 7

No they can't only the rudder does that then the aileron aids to make the turn smooth with a little banking. No aircraft does a 90 degree turn.

Answer 8

Most got it correct. Think about it this way: if you bank steeply enough...even up to 90 degrees, then you use an increasing amount of elevator input to make the aircraft turn.

In a jet fighter, we use elevator inputs for just about all turns...and no rudder at all.

In air carrier, or other jet aircraft ops, you can still bank the aircraft slightly and make a turn without rudder input. Rudder is usually needed to counteract the torque force on a propeller aircraft, or to overcome what's known as "adverse yaw".

An aircraft designed for speed suffers from neither of those factors.

Answer 9

the elevator turns the plane?  thanks get a grip, after flying airplanes (single engine land) for over 18 years I always wondered what turned the plane. Wow! I guess next time I want to change my heading 90 degrees I will pull up on the elevator.

Oh wait,, do I push to turn right and pull to turn left or  the other way around? Gosh, It is going to be hard to relearn how to fly an airplane.

Nick, I bet the Harrier will...

firefox, i was responding tongue in cheek to "get a grip"'s  statement.

Answer 10

Airplanes can roll left or right using only ailerons.  The plane is turned by the wings' horizontal component of lift.

Answer 11

The ailerons are the chief control used in turning while in flight, and the rudder is only used to correct for adverse yaw to make the turn a coordinated turn, along with a certain amount of elevator input to compensate for the loss of lift due to the bank.

So yes, it is done, but it is best to keep the angle of bank as shallow as possible.  In most airplanes in a 10 degree bank or less you would not notice the lack of rudder/elevator input.

You could turn that way to any desired heading, 90 degrees or any other direction.

I continue to be amazed at the people who post answers about things they know nothing about and to present their speculations as authoritative facts.

Answer 12

They do more often than not. A good design wont need all that input. Until you get into specific use like STOL or something out of the ordinary. Then the wing shape may make it necessary.

Answer 13

Yes, it can, however by using the rudder at the same time and keeping that darn ball in the middle of the dial, it makes the turn much smoother and far less strain on the tail section.