Stubby,

Thanks, I think I've got it now.

As the turn is initiated, the tail has to go right (this is what
causes the plane to turn) and my guess is that the ball initially goes
very slightly left.

However, once a constant-radius turn has been achieved, the ball will
be on the right (outside) of the turn.

Tim.

On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 18:28:28 -0400, Stubby
wrote:

I don't think so. My understanding is the ball rests in a slightly
curved tube, arranged so that gravity tends to center it. Centrifugal
force tries to move it to the outside of the skid, up the curved tube.
Neither of these forces depends on where you mount the turn coordinator.


Tim Auckland wrote:
(Things are so slow in this group at the moment, I thought I'd post
this to get your input on something I've been mulling over...)

If you put a plane into a skidding left turn (wings level) with left
rudder, the ball on the panel goes to the right.

However, I've been trying to work out what would happen to the ball if
it was mounted on the tail.
The rudder is pushing the tail of the plane to the right, so I think
the ball would go to the left.
Can anyone confirm this?

Tim.