In flight mechanics, the “radius of gyration” refers to a measure of how the mass of an aircraft is distributed from its axis of rotation. It’s a characteristic parameter used to simplify the analysis of an aircraft’s rotational behavior, particularly in terms of its resistance to changes in orientation or angular motion
- is the radius of gyration. It represents the distance from the yaw axis to an equivalent point where the entire mass could be concentrated to achieve the same moment of inertia. This concept is used to simplify the analysis of an aircraft’s rotational behavior.
- is the moment of inertia of the aircraft about its yaw axis. It quantifies an aircraft’s resistance to rotational motion about the yaw axis. It’s calculated by integrating the mass distribution with respect to distance from the axis.
- is the mass of the aircraft.