Why is it that on most planes i have seen , and i am not saying by any means i have seen them all , is the vertical stabalizer and rudder set up so that when it is operated , as well as giving side to side thrust . it also gives a degree of down thrust due to the pivot angle . which has the effect of bringing the tail up and the nose down , is it not possible to get rid of the angle on the rudder so that the aircraft will in effect spin on a flat plane , if i wanted to bring the nose up or down i would use the elevator , or am i missing something . i never fly with rudder anyway , only ailerons and elevator , thats how i was taught since day one , the rudder ripped of my plane once in mid flight due to bad hinges and was just flapping by the control link but it made no difference to me.... anyway , why are rudders set up this way ...

You should try using the rudder. It is there for a reason. For a aerobatic pilot, rudder is an extremely important surface and one of the most fun. Even for a sport pilot that flys no aerobatics, rudder is still important for slips, etc.

If I understand you correctly, I believe you are asking why the hinge line isn't perpendicular to the long axis of the fuselage. On some planes, it may be cosmetic, but on most with that design, it was calculated and intentional. Rudders tend to cause what is called coupling, that is a rudder movement will impart a pitch and roll component as well as the intended yaw. There are a lot of reasons for this and it gets technical as it involves the rudder shape and placement, wings, fuse, CG location, dihedral, etc. I could explain further, but if you can accept that rudders have unwanted roll and pitch forces as truth, I'll leave it there.

What the designer of the plane has done has tried to change the pitch and roll effects of the rudder. On an aerobatic plane, the designer will attempt to design the rudder such that there are no pitch or roll effects, i.e. pure yaw only. This often requires a hinge line not perpendicular to the long axis of the fuse. On non-aerobatic planes, the designer may actually design in a specific pitch and roll effect. Typically this would be same side roll and a little up pitch. This helps coordinate the plane (prevents slip) and increases AOA of the wing a little (makes up for lower airspeed with rudder input by increasing wings AOA.)


Hope this helps. CHeers.

Without mastering the rudder, you will never be effective at taking off and landing with a crosswind. Period. you need to practice it and learn it. It is one of the primary controls, and is very important to the overall flying of the airplane.

Couldn't have said it better!

After getting the hang of the simplicity of the rudder as it applies to the basics of flight. Taxing, crabbing in cross wind and keeping a straight aircraft in a loop, you are denying yourself probably the most fun part of an aircraft as it applies it self to almost every intermediate and advanced aerobatic maneuver there is. And thats not even touching on the subject of 3D. Which eventually may be a part of your experience or maybe not. However the use of the rudder is not limited to 3D only and if used from the get go makes flying 10 times more fun IMO.