Editing Relaxed stability (section)

== Early aircraft ==
Early attempts at heavier-than-air flight were marked by a differing concept of stability from that used today. Most aeronautical investigators regarded flight as if it were not so different from surface locomotion, except the surface was elevated. They thought of changing direction in terms of a ship's [[rudder]], so the flying machine would remain essentially level in the air, as did an automobile or a ship at the surface. The idea of deliberately leaning, or rolling, to one side either seemed undesirable or did not enter their thinking.{{Sfn | Crouch | 2003 | pages = 167–168}}

Some of these early investigators, including [[Samuel Pierpont Langley| Langley]], [[Octave Chanute| Chanute]], and later [[Santos-Dumont]] and the [[Voisin brothers]], sought the ideal of "inherent stability" in a very strong sense, believing a flying machine should be built to automatically roll to a horizontal ([[Flight dynamics (aircraft)#Lateral modes |lateral]]) position after any disturbance. They achieved this with the help of [[Hargrave cellular wing]]s (wings with a [[box kite]] structure, including the vertical panels) and strongly [[Dihedral (aircraft) | dihedral]] wings. In most cases they did not include any means for a pilot to control the aircraft roll<ref name = c />{{Page needed |date=February 2014}}—they could control only the elevator and rudder. The unpredicted effect of this was that it was very hard to turn the aircraft without rolling.<ref name = c />{{Page needed |date=February 2014}}<ref name = l /> They were also strongly affected by side gusts and side winds upon landing.{{Citation needed |date=February 2014}}

The [[Wright brothers]] designed their [[1903 Wright Flyer|1903 first powered Flyer]] with [[Dihedral (aircraft)#Anhedral |anhedral]] (drooping) wings, which are inherently unstable. They showed that a pilot can maintain control of lateral roll and it was a good way for a flying machine to turn—to "[[banked turn|bank]]" or "lean" into the turn just like a bird or just like a person riding a bicycle.{{Sfn |Tobin |2004 |p = 70}}  Equally important, this method would enable recovery when the wind tilted the machine to one side. Although used in 1903, it would not become widely known in Europe until August 1908, when [[Wilbur Wright]] demonstrated to European aviators the importance of the [[Coordinated flight|coordinated use]] of elevator, rudder and roll control for making effective turns.{{Citation needed |date=February 2014}}