Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the craft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern, tail or after end. Often rudders are shaped so as to minimize hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag. On simple watercraft, a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole acting as a lever arm—may be attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, cables, pushrods, or hydraulics may be used to link rudders to steering wheels. In typical aircraft, the rudder is operated by pedals via mechanical linkages or hydraulics.
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Famous quotes containing the word rudder:
“Then the bowsprit got mixed with the rudder sometimes:
A thing, as the Bellman remarked,
That frequently happens in tropical climes
When a vessel is, so to speak, “snarked.””
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)
“He that winna be ruled by the rudder maun be ruled by the rock.”
—Scottish proverb.
“And when we can with Meeter safe,
We’ll call him so, if not plain Ralph,
For Rhime the Rudder is of Verses,
With which like Ships they steer their courses.”
—Samuel Butler (1612–1680)