What are the limitations of the attitude indicator?
The pitch and bank limits of an attitude indicator depend upon the make and model of the instrument. Some attitude indicators have limits in the banking plane from 100° to 110°, and the pitch limits can be from 60° to 70°. Attitude Indicator Inaccuracies & Errors Can tumble if 100-110° of bank or 60-70° of pitch is exceeded. May be caged preventing tumbling, especially during acrobatics. Accelerations may cause a slight pitch up indication. Decelerations may cause a slight pitch down indication.
What are the errors in both pitch and bank indication on an attitude indicator?
Errors in both pitch and bank indications occur during normal coordinated turns. These errors are caused by the movement of the pendulous vanes by centrifugal force, resulting in the precession of the gyro toward the inside of the turn. The error is greatest in a 180° steep turn. Precession causes a slow drift in the gyro and results in erroneous readings. Crosschecking the heading indicator or directional gyro with the magnetic compass and making the appropriate corrections should be accomplished on a regular basis.Precession is the force that results in an error. It’s the movement of the gyro caused by friction. In essence, the aircraft’s movement causes the gyro to become slightly off-center.
What controls the attitude indicator?
A typical round-dial attitude indicator has an internal gyroscope that is spun by your plane’s vacuum system. Air is pulled through the attitude indicator’s scooped rotor, causing the gyroscope to spin. Mounted horizontally inside your attitude indicator’s casing is a gyro that will spin in place. The attitude indicator (AI), also known as the gyro horizon or artificial horizon, is a flight instrument that informs the pilot of the aircraft orientation relative to Earth’s horizon, and gives an immediate indication of the smallest orientation change.The attitude indicator is located near the center of the instrument panel and is a direct indicator gyroscopic flight instrument mounted in the cockpit of aircraft. It displays both pitch and bank against an artificial horizon display.