Weathervane effect

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The Weathervane Effect is a phenomenon in flight that causes most airplanes to turn (yaw) when banked. A banked plane will tend to slide to the banked side. Most airplanes have more area (and hence more resistance to sliding) aft of the center of gravity, causing the airplane to rotate (turn) about the yaw axis. For example, when banked to the right, a plane's vertical stabilizer will create drag on the right side, creating a right "brake" effect that swivels the plane in that direction.

[edit] References

• Explanation of the effect