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Gyroscope errors

Asked by: 10001 views Aircraft Systems

Hi, may i know how exactly does Apparent Wander causes inaccuracy from a gyroscope?

From what i have gathered from the net, it states that Apparent Wander occurs without any physical movement of the gyro and it is due to the Earth's rotation. However, i still do not understand how does it affect the gyro and is considered as an error.

Help will be appreciated, thanks!

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1 Answers



  1. Patrick Flannigan on May 24, 2011

    Julian, great question. Apparent wander has everything to do with rigidity in space and the rotation of the earth. 
    The spinning disc of a gyro remains fixed in it’s plane of rotation. Imagine a ball (Earth). Now imagine a disc (gyro) spinning next to the ball tangent to the surface of that ball.  
    (  ){|   <– The gyro is tangent to the ball (or level with the ground)
    Our gyro is actually rotating with the Earth, so now visualize the disc orbiting the ball without changing it’s plane of rotation. That is, if the disc is parallel with one a wall in your house, it will remain parallel to that wall as it circles the ball. 
    {|(  )  <– On the other side of the ball, the gyro faces the same direction, but appears “upside down” relative to the ball.
    This is considered gyroscopic error in the aviation world because it a gradual drift of our heading indicator from magnetic north, which is not desired. 

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