The NASA SCIence Files™
Pitch, Roll, and Yaw
Purpose: To demonstrate pitch, roll, and yaw

Materials

Procedure
  1. Make a clay model of an airplane.
  2. Using the aluminum foil, wrap the various parts of the airplane until it is completely covered in foil.
  3. Push a wooden skewer through the longitudinal axis of the model from the nose to the tail of the airplane, making sure that the skewer sticks out on either side of the axis.
  4. Push another wooden skewer through the lateral axis of the model from the tip of one wing, through the fuselage, to the tip of the other wing, making sure that the skewer sticks out on either side of the axis.
  5. Push a third skewer through the fuselage of the plane that starts at the top of the plane, comes out on the bottom of the plane, and goes through the point where the two previous skewers intersect.
  6. To form a stand for the model, insert the skewer into a small foam block.
  7. Slowly twirl the plane, holding the ends of each stick on the longitudinal axis. Is this movement pitch, yaw, or roll?
  8. Try each different stick and determine whether it creates pitch, yaw, or roll.
  9. In your science journal, draw a diagram that illustrates each of the motions.
Conclusion
  1. On which axis is pitch located? Roll?
  2. Does a pilot need to have pitch, yaw, and roll? Why or why not?
diagram of clay model What's Happening?
An airplane can basically move in six different ways that are called the six degrees of freedom of motion. The control surfaces, the ailerons, the elevators, and the rudder on a plane are used to change the forces and allow the pilot to move the vehicle in the direction he or she wants to go. Ailerons control the banking (the roll to the right or left) around the longitudinal axis. The elevators are the horizontal flaps on the tail and are used to control the climbing or diving motion (pitch) around the lateral axis. The rudder on the vertical flap on the tail controls the turning (yaw motion) around the vertical axis.