Inertia coupling is a potentially lethal phenomenon of high-speed flight in which the inertia of the heavier fuselage overpowers the aerodynamic stabilizing forces of the wing and empennage. The problem became apparent as single-engine jet fighter aircraft were developed with narrow wing spans that had relatively low roll inertia, relative to the pitch and yaw inertia dominated by the long slender high-density fuselage.
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Famous quotes containing the words inertia and/or coupling:
“What is wrong with priests and popes is that instead of being apostles and saints, they are nothing but empirics who say I know instead of I am learning, and pray for credulity and inertia as wise men pray for scepticism and activity.”
—George Bernard Shaw (18561950)
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