ORIGINAL: FatOrangeKat
Regardless of bank angle, there is still the same amount of air passing under and over the wings; they do not know if they are horizontal or not.
Granted that's right. But it has no bearing on how dihedral works regardless to which "theory" you subscribe.
ORIGINAL: FatOrangeKat
but I believe that the dihedral issue is more based on simple mechanics.
Airflow has very little to do with mechanics. Also I'm not sure just what "mechanics" you're reffering to. Is it that diagram that Campgems posted up?
If so I have no argument with that diagram being true. However once you fly some rudder controlled models that are equipped with dihedral you'll soon come to realize that the effect you get is far more than that simple geometric difference can provide. However this isn't an "either-or" situation. Both the geometric and lift coefficient factors are working together at the same time so they are additive. However the geometric factor only works when the model is able to fly in a bank but not side slip. As I mentioned before that just never happens for long and only in a transitory way as the model accelerates sideways into a side slip. To actually achieve that odd manner of flying in a straight line in a steady manner while banked you'd need to be using enough rudder to semi knife edge off the side of the fuselage.
ORIGINAL: FatOrangeKat
Imagine, for an exaggerated example, that the dihedral was 90 degrees, so that when the plane is flying level, the wings are each at a 45 degree angle. If you bank to the right so that the right wing is now horizontal (45 degree bank right) you will have an unbalanced wing with the weight of the plane completely at the left end. Gravity will pull down on the plane's CG, causing it to roll back to the left, until the moment force of gravity is balanced on the left side by the left wing generating some vertical lift.
Again, that's true but it won't stay in a steady state bank like that. It'll accelerate into a side slip immediately because there's no sideways lift to counter the tendency to do that. However I'll grant you that if you COULD do this then yes it would correct itself from the geometric lift shifting. And certainly in the brief moment while it is in the early stages of accelerating sideways the totality shifting to majority shifting to semi major part of the corrective torque would be due to your extreme pigeon wings...
