Using the Rudder on an Airplane

Video Transcript

One of the primary controls that we use to maneuver the aircraft are the rudder pedals. And the two pedals that are located on the floor actually serve a variety of different functions. While we're on the ground, the tops of the pedals are interconnected to a couple of bars that attach to the nose gear, and they allow us to steer the aircraft in one direction or the another. We simply do that by pushing on the appropriate pedal. If we want to go right, we push right. If we want to go left, we push left. If we want to tighten the turn up even more, the tops of the pedals also control the brakes of the aircraft. So if we want to pivot the aircraft on one tire, we can simply depress the brake on that side, apply a little bit of power, and the aircraft will essentially rotate around on that one tire, and that allows us to keep a fairly tight turn when we're maneuvering in some fairly close proximity of these buildings. Once we're airborne -- of course, obviously we're not concerned with the nose wheel steering or the brakes any longer -- but then we start using the pedals to control the rudder on the rear of the aircraft. Now, unlike a boat most people think that the rudder is what we use to turn the aircraft with. And that's not really the case. What the rudder is there for is kind of to keep the whole thing in a coordinated basis -- basically meaning that when we start a turn, we would do so using the ailerons of the aircraft to roll the aircraft in a particular direction, and then we would push on the rudder sufficiently in order to keep a little ball centered in the middle of the panel, and that just keeps the turn nice and smooth, and keeps the ride very comfortable to anybody that's along as a passenger.

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