What is adverse yaw?

What is adverse yaw?

• A. A natural tendency for yaw to oppose roll
• B. An aircraft rolling into a turn creates yaw in the opposite direction, requiring rudder application in order to coordinate the turn
• C. Yaw caused by gusts
• D. Yaw that increases with altitude

Answer: (B)

Adverse yaw is the yawing tendency that appears when you roll the airplane with the ailerons, causing the nose to yaw opposite to the direction of the roll. As you roll into a turn, the wing with the aileron moved down (the wing producing more lift) also develops more drag, while the opposite wing encounters less drag. That difference in drag yaws the nose away from the intended turn. To keep the turn coordinated, you apply rudder toward the direction of the turn to counter this yaw. Gusts or altitude changes aren’t what define adverse yaw, and while it can be described as yaw opposite the roll, the important point is the drag-driven yaw during rolling and the corrective rudder input needed.

Adverse yaw is the yawing tendency that appears when you roll the airplane with the ailerons, causing the nose to yaw opposite to the direction of the roll. As you roll into a turn, the wing with the aileron moved down (the wing producing more lift) also develops more drag, while the opposite wing encounters less drag. That difference in drag yaws the nose away from the intended turn. To keep the turn coordinated, you apply rudder toward the direction of the turn to counter this yaw. Gusts or altitude changes aren’t what define adverse yaw, and while it can be described as yaw opposite the roll, the important point is the drag-driven yaw during rolling and the corrective rudder input needed.