Aircraft dynamic modes

The dynamic stability of an aircraft refers to how the aircraft behaves after it has been disturbed following
steady non-oscillating flight.

Longitudinal modes
Oscillating motions can be described by two parameters, the period of time required for one complete
oscillation, and the time required to damp to half-amplitude, or the time to double the amplitude for a
dynamically unstable motion. The longitudinal motion consists of two distinct oscillations, a long-period
oscillation called a phugoid mode and a short-period oscillation referred to as the short-period mode.

Phugoid (longer period) oscillations

The longer period mode, called the "phugoid mode" is the one in which there is a large-amplitude variation
of air-speed, pitch angle, and altitude, but almost no angle-of-attack variation. The phugoid oscillation is
really a slow interchange of kinetic energy (velocity) and potential energy (height) about some equilibrium
energy level as the aircraft attempts to re-establish the equilibrium level-flight condition from which it had
been disturbed. The motion is so slow that the effects of inertia forces and damping forces are very low.
Although the damping is very weak, the period is so long that the pilot usually corrects for this motion
without being aware that the oscillation even exists. Typically the period is 2060 seconds. The pilot
generally can control this oscillation himself.

Short period oscillations

With no special name, the shorter period mode is called simply the "short-period mode". The short-period
mode is a usually heavily damped oscillation with a period of only a few seconds. The motion is a rapid
pitching of the aircraft about the center of gravity. The period is so short that the speed does not have time
to change, so the oscillation is essentially an angle-of-attack variation. The time to damp the amplitude to
one-half of its value is usually on the order of 1 second. Ability to quickly self damp when the stick is
briefly displaced is one of the many criteria for general aircraft certification.

Lateral-directional modes
"Lateral-directional" modes involve rolling motions and yawing motions. Motions in one of these axes
almost always couples into the other so the modes are generally discussed as the "Lateral-Directional
modes".[2]
There are three types of possible lateral-directional dynamic motion: roll subsidence mode, spiral mode,
and Dutch roll mode.

Roll subsidence mode

Roll subsidence mode is simply the damping of rolling motion. There is no direct aerodynamic moment
created tending to directly restore wings-level, i.e. there is no returning "spring force/moment" proportional

to roll angle. However, there is a damping moment (proportional to roll rate) created by the slewing-about
of long wings. This prevents large roll rates from building up when roll-control inputs are made or it damps
the roll rate (not the angle) to zero when there are no roll-control inputs.
Roll mode can be improved by adding dihedral effects to the aircraft design, such as high wings, dihedral
angles or sweep angles.

Spiral mode
If a spirally unstable aircraft, through the action of a gust or other disturbance, gets a small initial roll angle
to the right, for example, a gentle sideslip to the right is produced. The sideslip causes a yawing moment
to the right. If the dihedral stability is low, and yaw damping is small, the directional stability keeps turning
the aircraft while the continuing bank angle maintains the sideslip and the yaw angle. This spiral gets
continuously steeper and tighter until finally, if the motion is not checked, a steep, high-speed spiral dive
results. The motion develops so gradually, however that it is usually corrected unconsciously by the pilot,
who may not be aware that spiral instability exists. If the pilot cannot see the horizon, for instance because
of clouds, he might not notice that he is slowly going into the spiral dive, which can lead into the graveyard
spiral.
To be spirally stable, an aircraft must have some combination of a sufficiently large dihedral, which
increases roll stability, and a sufficiently long vertical tail arm, which increases yaw damping. Increasing
the vertical tail area then magnifies the degree of stability or instability.
The spiral dive should not be confused with a spin.

Detection
While descending turns are commonly performed by pilots as a standard flight manoeuvre, the spiral dive
is differentiated from a descending turn owing to its feature of accelerating speed. It is therefore an
unstable flight condition, and pilots are trained to recognise its onset and to implement recovery
procedures safely and immediately. Without intervention by the pilot, acceleration of the aircraft will lead to
structural failure of the airframe, either as a result of excess aerodynamic loading or flight into terrain.
Spiral dive training therefore revolves around pilot recognition and recovery.

Recovery
Spiral dive accidents are typically associated with visual flight (non-instrument flight) in conditions of poor
visibility, where the pilot's reference to the visual natural horizon is effectively reduced, or prevented
entirely, by such factors as cloud or darkness. The inherent danger of the spiral dive is that the condition,
especially at onset, cannot be easily detected by the sensory mechanisms of the human body. The
physical forces exerted on an aeroplane during a spiral dive are effectively balanced and the pilot cannot
detect the banked attitude of the spiral descent. If the pilot detects acceleration, but fails to detect the
banked attitude associated with the spiral descent, a mistaken attempt may be to recovery with
mere backpressure (pitch-up inputs) on the control wheel. However, with the lift vector of the aircraft now
directed to the centre of the spiral turn, this erred nose-up input simply tightens the spiral condition and

increases the rate of acceleration and increases dangerous airframe loading. To successfully recover from
a spiral dive, the lift vector must first be redirected upward (relative to the natural horizon) before
backpressure is applied to the control column. Since the acceleration can be very rapid, recovery is
dependent on the pilot's ability to quickly close the throttle (which is contributing to the acceleration),
position the lift vector upward, relative to the Earth's surface before the dive recovery is implemented; any
factor that would impede the pilot's external reference to the Earth's surface could delay or prevent
recovery. The quick and efficient completion of these tasks is crucial as the aircraft can accelerate through
maximum speed limits within only a few seconds, where the structural integrity of the airframe will be
compromised.
For the purpose of flight training, instructors typically establish the aircraft in a descending turn with initially
slow but steadily accelerating airspeed the initial slow speed facilitates the potentially slow and
sometimes erred response of student pilots. The cockpit controls are released by the instructor and the
student is instructed to recover. It is not uncommon for a spiral dive to result from an unsuccessful attempt
to enter a spin, but the extreme nose-down attitude of the aircraft during the spin-spiral transition makes
this method of entry ineffective for training purposes as there is little room to permit student error or delay.
All spiral dive recoveries entail the same recovery sequence: first, the throttle must be immediately closed;
second, the aircraft is rolled level with co-ordinated use of aileronsand rudder; and third, backpressure is
exerted smoothly on the control wheel to recover from the dive.

Dutch roll mode

The second lateral motion is an oscillatory combined roll and yaw motion called Dutch roll, perhaps
because of its similarity to an ice-skating motion of the same name made by Dutch skaters; the origin of
the name is unclear. The Dutch roll may be described as a yaw and roll to the right, followed by a recovery
towards the equilibrium condition, then an overshooting of this condition and a yaw and roll to the left, then
back past the equilibrium attitude, and so on. The period is usually on the order of 315 seconds, but it
can vary from a few seconds for light aircraft to a minute or more for airliners. Damping is increased by
large directional stability and small dihedral and decreased by small directional stability and large dihedral.
Although usually stable in a normal aircraft, the motion may be so slightly damped that the effect is very
unpleasant and undesirable. In swept-back wing aircraft, the Dutch roll is solved by installing a yaw
damper, in effect a special-purpose automatic pilot that damps out any yawing oscillation by applying
rudder corrections. Some swept-wing aircraft have an unstable Dutch roll. If the Dutch roll is very lightly
damped or unstable, the yaw damper becomes a safety requirement, rather than a pilot and passenger
convenience. Dual yaw dampers are required and a failed yaw damper is cause for limiting flight to low
altitudes, and possibly lower mach numbers, where the Dutch roll stability is improved.

Phugoid
A phugoid or fugoid (

/fjud/) is an aircraft motion where the vehicle pitches up and climbs, and then

pitches down and descends, accompanied by speeding up and slowing down as it goes "uphill" and
"downhill." This is one of the basic flight dynamics modes of an aircraft (others include short period, dutch
roll, and spiral divergence), and a classic example of a positive feedback system.

A diagrammatic representation of a fixed-wing airplane in phugoid

Detailed description
The phugoid has a nearly constant angle of attack but varying pitch, caused by a repeated exchange
of airspeed and altitude. It can be excited by an elevator singlet (a short, sharp deflection followed by a
return to the centered position) resulting in a pitch increase with no change in trim from
the cruise condition. As speed decays, the nose will drop below the horizon. Speed will increase, and the
nose will climb above the horizon. Periods can vary from under 30 seconds for light aircraft to minutes
for larger aircraft. Microlight aircraft typically show a phugoid period of 1525 seconds, and it has been
suggested that birds and model airplanes show convergence between the phugoid and short period
modes. A classical model for the phugoid period can be simplified to about (0.85 speed in knots)
seconds, but this only really works for larger aircraft.
Phugoids are often demonstrated to student pilots as an example of the speed stability of the aircraft and
the importance of proper trimming. When it occurs, it is considered a nuisance, and in lighter airplanes
(typically showing a shorter period) it can be a cause of pilot-induced oscillation.
The phugoid, for moderate amplitude,[1] occurs at an effectively constant angle of attack, although in
practice the angle of attack actually varies by a few tenths of a degree. This means that the stalling angle
of attack is never exceeded, and it is possible (in the <1g section of the cycle) to fly at speeds below the
known stalling speed. Free flight models with badly unstable phugoid typically stall or loop, depending on
thrust.[2]
An unstable or divergent phugoid is caused, mainly, by a large difference between the incidence angles of
the wing and tail. A stable, decreasing phugoid can be attained by building a smaller stabilizer on a longer
tail, or, at the expense of pitch and yaw "static" stability, by shifting the center of gravity to the rear.
The term "phugoid" was coined by Frederick W. Lanchester, the British aerodynamicist who first
characterized the phenomenon. He derived the word from the Greek words and to mean "flightlike" but recognized the diminished appropriateness of the derivation given that meant flight in the

sense of "escape" rather than vehicle flight.[3] The use of a canard in aircraft design exploits this
phenomenon and ensures that the main wing is prevented from stalling.

Aviation incidents
In the 1975 Tan Son Nhut C-5 accident, USAF C-5 68-021 with flight controls damaged by loss of the rear
cargo door, encountered phugoid oscillations while the crew was attempting a return to base, and crashlanded in a rice paddy. Of the 328 people on board, 153 died, making it the deadliest accident involving a
US military aircraft.
In 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 lost all hydraulic controls and its vertical stabiliser, and went into a
phugoid before crashing into a mountain. With 520 deaths it remains the deadliest single-aircraft disaster
in history.
In 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 suffered an engine failure which caused total hydraulic system failure.
The crew flew the aircraft with throttle only. Suppressing the phugoid tendency was particularly difficult[4].
The pilots were able to reach Sioux Gateway Airport but crashed during the landing attempt. The pilots
and a majority of the passengers survived.
Another aircraft that lost all hydraulics was a DHL operated Airbus A300B4 that was hit by a surface-to-air
missile fired by the Iraqi resistance in the 2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident. This was the
first time that a crew was able to land an air transport aircraft safely only adjusting engine thrust.
The 2003 crash of the Helios solar powered aircraft was precipitated by reacting to an inappropriately
diagnosed phugoid oscillation the results of which ultimately resulted in the aircraft structure exceeding
design loads.[5]