10ft Wingspan Guinea Pig

Piotrsko

Master member
If you look at a C17 cargo plane, it has anhederal (the opposite of diehederal) which makes it [suprise]: stable. But there's more going on than just the anhederal to have that stability.
Tradition says diehederal makes planes stable which it did for non-engineers. If the foam wings are floppy enough to move up and down during flight, they are going to fail during flight.
 

Tench745

Master member
If you look at a C17 cargo plane, it has anhederal (the opposite of diehederal) which makes it [suprise]: stable. But there's more going on than just the anhederal to have that stability.
Tradition says diehederal makes planes stable which it did for non-engineers. If the foam wings are floppy enough to move up and down during flight, they are going to fail during flight.
As I understand it, the anhedral is still there to make the C-17 less stable. Swept wings have a natural stabilizing effect and the anhedral helps counteract that to keep the aircraft sufficiently maneuverable.
Also, all our aircraft will move and flex in flight. Floppy is bad, but a little flex is normal. Exactly how much flex is ok depends on materials and the intended flight regime.

Look how much the wing flexes on this little glider for instance.
If you like a lot of talking, there's also this video: