Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 27, 2026

Slip-turn

A slip-turn is a maneuver in which an aircraft turns using only the rudder. In most aircraft, the presence of a fixed vertical stabilizer complicates the maneuver. However, in those in which the whole of the vertical stabilizer comprises the rudder, such as the Fokker Dr.I triplane, the aircraft can be made to effectively skid in the horizontal plane, a technique employed by the German World War I ace Josef Jacobs to great effect, and which Werner Voss used in his final combat.

Last revised
Jul 27, 2026
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A slip-turn is a maneuver in which an aircraft turns using only the rudder. In most aircraft, the presence of a fixed vertical stabilizer complicates the maneuver. However, in those in which the whole of the vertical stabilizer comprises the rudder, such as the Fokker Dr.I triplane, the aircraft can be made to effectively skid in the horizontal plane, a technique employed by the German World War I ace Josef Jacobs1 to great effect, and which Werner Voss used in his final combat.

Notes

Notes

  1. Franks p218
References

References

  • Norman Franks : Dog-Fight: Aerial Tactics of the Aces of World War I (2003) ISBN 1-85367-551-2