Which term best describes the initial tendency to remain in a new state after disturbance?

Which term best describes the initial tendency to remain in a new state after disturbance?

• A. Positive static stability
• B. Dynamic stability
• C. Neutral static stability
• D. Negative static stability

Answer: (C)

Static stability describes how the aircraft initially responds to a disturbance in attitude. The phrase “initial tendency to remain in a new state after disturbance” points to whether the aircraft tends to go back to its original attitude, continues moving away, or stays where it is displaced. When the initial response is to stay in the new attitude, that is neutral static stability. There is no immediate restoring moment pulling it back, nor a moment pushing it further away. Positive static stability would generate a restoring tendency back toward the original state, so it would not stay in the new state. Negative static stability would cause it to diverge away further, also not staying put. Dynamic stability, while related, concerns how the motion evolves over time after the disturbance (damping and oscillations), not the immediate initial tendency described here.

Static stability describes how the aircraft initially responds to a disturbance in attitude. The phrase “initial tendency to remain in a new state after disturbance” points to whether the aircraft tends to go back to its original attitude, continues moving away, or stays where it is displaced. When the initial response is to stay in the new attitude, that is neutral static stability. There is no immediate restoring moment pulling it back, nor a moment pushing it further away. Positive static stability would generate a restoring tendency back toward the original state, so it would not stay in the new state. Negative static stability would cause it to diverge away further, also not staying put. Dynamic stability, while related, concerns how the motion evolves over time after the disturbance (damping and oscillations), not the immediate initial tendency described here.