The roll angle (also known as bank angle) of an aircraft about the longitudinal axis is a measure of how much the aircraft has rolled or tilted to one side. It describes the angle between the aircraft’s wings and the horizon. Roll angle is a critical parameter for understanding an aircraft’s orientation and is essential for controlling the aircraft during turns.
The formula for roll angle (φ) can be defined as follows:
- Roll Angle (φ) is the roll angle in radians (rad).arctan is the inverse tangent function.
- ay is the acceleration in the lateral (side-to-side) direction, typically measured in meters per second squared (m/s²).
- az is the acceleration in the vertical (up-and-down) direction, also measured in meters per second squared (m/s²).