# The Great Ongoing Aviation Thread (general and other) (Part 1)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 23, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499 "2011-10-23T02:17:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1104

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2017, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/1104 "2017-12-02T06:13:47Z")

</div>

Someone’s ignorance needs to be fought here. If it’s me, I need to have it done.

In another nearby thread, I wrote:

> [@Small Plane Pilots: Flying in a Corkscrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-plane-pilots-flying-in-a-corkscrew/803241/33):
>
> Banking a plane increases the angle of attack on the down-going wing (only while the plane is actually rolling, not after it’s rolled to where the pilot wants it), increasing the chances of that wing stalling. But encountering an updraft that lifts just one wing and not the other, can do the same thing. Gliders, especially high-performance ones with their 18-meter wingspans, are especially susceptible to stuff like that.

and got this response:

> [@Small Plane Pilots: Flying in a Corkscrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-plane-pilots-flying-in-a-corkscrew/803241/36):
>
> So many errors here. Banking does not increase the angle of attack of the wing. Angle of attack is controlled by the elevator, or the trim, which is used to compensate for the \*loss of lift \*due to the bank. A continuing bank condition without backpressure on the yoke is the beginning of a graveyard spiral.

Who is right? When a plane is rolling, does that increase the AoA on the down-going wing for the duration of the rolling motion? (Note: _Not_ after the plane is in a stable bank attitue, but while the plane is rolling.) And is the same true if the plane encounters an updraft under just one wing?

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499)._