About Right Rudder

Right rudder is the most common aviation term that you might hear when you step into your flying career. When you start your flying training as a beginner, your instructor is going to yell this at you all the time and this even might put second thoughts in your mind about choosing aviation as a career haha. But don't worry, becoming a pilot needs patience, time, consistency and of course, hard work.

I flew for the first time as a student pilot on 2nd May 2023 after going through vigorous but interesting ground theory classes, getting done with all the PPL and CPL examinations. The very first thing that I hear my instructor talking about was surprisingly not the yoke in front or the throttle that controls the power house but it was the rudder. "Starting today this is gonna be your best friend in the cockpit", I wasn't surprised as I read all about that during my theory classes however I never saw or experienced it myself. And there we go, rolling down the runway with fully opened throttle and I can feel myself being pushed to the right as the aircraft is trying to go to the left (the wind that day made it worse as it was coming from our left). My instructor wanted me to feel the aircraft as much as I can and as I followed her through the controls, I was like dang, how much leg work does this thing requires. I knew rudder was there to stabilize the plane but didn't know it affects the aerodynamics at that scale. The first flight despite you not even in full control of the airplane feels overwhelming, at least to me it was. The statement "Make sure you are the one flying the plane, not the other way" felt so wrong because it was definitely the airplane flying me that day. I was just trying to follow whatever it was doing. But I love to admit that it was one heck of an experience! For some people, it might be a joyride, for some it might be a dream come true holding the control column for the first time ever. One definitely remembers their first flight and cherish it for as long as their flying career last.

Whether it's about doing turns, descending, climbing or even straight and level, the rudder applications are on all phases of a flight. And it was on every flight after that when I could hear my instructor saying/shouting "more right rudder, more rudder!" "Rudder this, rudder that!" But as you learn and hone your skills with more and more experience, it will become just a second nature to you that you won't even realize how much rudder you are actually using, it just happens with your legs autonomously. But, it's something that I still hear in my ear every day whenever I think about all those instructional flights and the feeling is unmatched.

Now you see from where our website's name came from? Sometimes we might think that aircraft is a simple machine with a rotating fan and a pair of wings. But the way it allows us to lift off ground and explore the endless skies is truly fascinating. Books can only teach us on a certain level but when we actually experience that ourselves, that's the moment we realize how mind-blowing aviation truly is! Understanding these principles as you move ahead your training is really important because now you can visualize everything, you can visualize the air flowing over the fuselage, control surfaces and even yourself (if you are flying something like the glorious Tiger-moth with your face against the slipstream). You know your feet is not just about applying brakes or rudder movements but what exactly it does to the plane. In the end, everything is connected and it's our job to never stop learning, asking questions, motivating others, working as a team and most importantly maintaining safety. The motivation to learn, improve and getting better as a pilot is something we all should thrive for. After all, it's better than reading a book titled "How to fly a plane" while sipping coffee and realizing you are already in the air, isn't it?

P.S- just a tip, make sure you break your gym rule and skip the leg day if you have a long flight the day after! You can thank me in the comments later.