"Michael" wrote in message
m...
"Gary L. Drescher" wrote
Sorry, I wasn't very clear as to what I was proposing. I wasn't
suggesting
to let the pendulum hang down to get bank information. Rather, the idea
is
to let it swing from side to side to get yaw information. As the plane
changes its heading, the pendulum's direction of motion changes relative
to
the plane.

Sounds great. How is that different from the ball (inclinometer)?

Two differences. First, the ball is not given a shove to keep it
oscillating back and forth even when the plane is going straight (any such
oscillation damps out almost instantly). Second, the ball is constrained to
move in only one plane. The idea of the pendulum is to start it swinging
side to side (say, east-west if you're heading north) but let it move
freely; then, if the plane yaws, the pendulum is still swinging east-west,
so the yaw is detectable. At least in principle.

--Gary


Michael