An airplane with good longitudinal stability should have a minimum tendency to do what?

Prepare for the FAA Flight Controls Test. Use flashcards and multiple choice questions with hints and explanations. Get ready to ace your exam!

An airplane with good longitudinal stability is primarily concerned with its pitch behavior. This stability refers to the aircraft's ability to maintain a consistent angle of attack and altitude without constant pilot input. When an airplane exhibits good longitudinal stability, it will naturally return to its equilibrium position after a disturbance, such as turbulence or a change in weight distribution.

Specifically, if the nose of the airplane pitches up or down due to a disturbance, good longitudinal stability allows it to naturally correct itself back to the intended flight path. This reduces the pilot's workload during flight, enhancing safety and comfort. Therefore, the correct answer highlights the minimal tendency of an airplane with good longitudinal stability to significantly pitch up or down.

In this context, while rolling, yawing, and stalling are important aspects of flight dynamics, they are not directly tied to longitudinal stability. Instead, they relate more to lateral stability and overall flight envelope considerations, making them less relevant to the question regarding longitudinal stability.

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