How does an airplane move?
There are three axes around which the airplane moves. All these axes are imaginary lines that pass through the airplane’s center of gravity, which is that point which is the center of the airplane’s total weight. Whenever an airplane changes its flight attitude or position in flight, it rotates about one or more of these three axes. The axes of an airplane can be considered imaginary axles around which the airplane turns, much like the axle around which a wheel rotates. At the point where all three axes intersect, each is at a 90° angle to the other two. In light of the adoption of nautical terms, the motion about the airplane’s longitudinal axis is called “roll”; the motion about its lateral axis is called “pitch”; and finally the motion about its vertical axis is called “yaw”.
