Gyro basics

Question 1

2 gyro basic properties

Answer 1

precession

rigidity

Question 2

factors affecting rigidity

Answer 2

rotational speed
mass
mass distribution

Question 3

gimbal

Answer 3

frame that allows gyro to maintain orientation and the aircraft to move

Question 4

space gyro

Answer 4

mounted so it is completely undisturbed by aircraft movements

Question 5

degrees of freedom

Answer 5

a system with 2 gimbals can rotate in 3 planes without disturbing the gyro, this is quoted as 2 degrees of freedom
1 gimbal 1 degree of freedom

Question 6

2 gimbal applications

Answer 6

direction indicator

attitude indicator

Question 7

displacement gyro

Answer 7

used to provide a datum for measuring angular displacement of the aircraft
aircraft displaced not the gyros
space gyros are a type of displacement gyro

Question 8

wander

Answer 8

have topple(vertical plane) and drift(horizontal plane)

apparent wander: gyro not moving but appears to have moved in relation to observer
earth rotating and transport wander

real wander:
imperfections(random wander) & intentional wander ie from erection systems ,

vert alignment at pole = no wander

apparent drift varies with sine lat
apparent topple varies with cosine lat

Question 9

precession

Answer 9

gyros response to an unbalanced force
occurs when you apply torque around an axis other than the spin axis
doesn’t move in the direction it is being pushed but as though the force was applied from 90deg further around the gyro
precession opposed by rigidity

Question 10

rate gyro

Answer 10

1 gimbal
uses precession to measure rates of change
torque applied to an input axis causes gyro to precess
rotates about gimbal (output axis)
used in turn coordinators

Question 11

gyro power

Answer 11

electric

pneumatic

Question 12

typical gyro RPMs

Answer 12

few thousand up to 24000RPM

Question 13

gimbal lock

Answer 13

gyro loses orientation when 2 gimbals become aligned

need to keep gyros 90 deg apart