Yawing motion

Yawing motion in general

This figure schematically visualizes the general angular motion of a spin-stabilized bullet close to the muzzle.

Imagine that the CG of the bullet is fixed at the centre of a co-ordinate system and that the bullet approaches an observerīs eye. Then its tip moves on a helical path (as indicated by the curved line) into the direction of the arrows. At muzzle exit (t=0) the yaw angle can be small, but increases to a maximum of approximately 1°, then decreases again to almost zero.

Note that the magnitude of successive maximum yaw angles is less than its predecessors, as the bullet in the drawing is assumed to be dynamically stable (the maximum yaw angle decreases as the bullet continues to move on).

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