does a low wing dihidral have better lateral stability than a high wing dihidral? and why?

Answer 1

Adding dihedral to a wing increases its lateral stability. So does using a high wing versus a low-wing or mid-wing. However, stability and maneuverability are inversely proportional. As such, you don't want the wings to have too much lateral stability. The same rule applies for yaw and pitch stability as well.

In the case of the aircraft that I fly, the C-5 Galaxy, it is a high wing aircraft that has anhedral wings. If it used straight or dihedral wings then the stability would be too great. Using anhedral wings gives it a perfect combination of stability and maneuverability.

Answer 2

You have two items to answer.
The high wing plane has a better balance from the centre.
Think of a pendulum or a bird. The birds wings are on top for better stability. Nature has it right.
Also the dihedral you mention is the angle of the wings from level.This also increases stability like a pendulum. A Cessna has around 3-5 degrees up from level to let the fuselage hang.
On the other side aerobatic aircraft, at least the good monoplane ones have the wings low to create more instability to help manoeuvre the plane aggressively.
Hope I helped.

Answer 3

No it does not. A high wing has a lower center of gravity because the fuselage is suspended below the wing. Also with an high wing the centre of thrust is below the centre of the wing, so in power up situations the natural tendency is to climb immediately, rather than dip the nose.

That is why high wing aircraft generally have less dihedral than low wing aircraft. Look at the Cessna C150 /70 and the piper warrior.

To the guy who mentioned ground effect, this only occurs at about half a wingspan or less above the runway, not in flight.


The warrior is prettier, but I'd rather be in a cessna in the bumpy stuff.

Answer 4

Ground effect when landing