Dihedral is the upward tilt of the wings from the fuselage to the wingtips, forming a shallow V-shape when viewed from the front. This design feature provides passive lateral stability. If a gust of wind causes the aircraft to roll, the lower wing generates more lift than the raised wing, naturally rolling the aircraft back to level flight without pilot input.
Heard on the job
The steep dihedral on that low-wing trainer makes it incredibly stable in turbulence.
Also heard as
- dihedral angle
Do not mix it up with
- Anhedral: Dihedral is an upward angle of the wings, while anhedral is a downward droop.