# Slip (balance) and Turn indicator



## mikeaaron353 (Mar 28, 2013)

I am not an aviator, but I have what hopefully is not a stupid question.
I am a restoring a '80 Triumph Spitfire roadster and would like to add a Supermarine Spitfire gauge to the dash. I found a Slip (balance) and Turn indicator in ebay, but not knowing enough about them I was wondering if it would indicate anything about my turning in a car rather than a plane that is operating at an order of magnitude faster. The indicator has graduations from 1 to 4.
Thanks for you time.

Mike M.


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## tyrodtom (Mar 28, 2013)

If it's a operating one, how are you planing to power the gyro inside? Or is it electric ?
Unless you drive it around a very high banked turns, like you would only find at a racetrack, the ball is always going to tell you you're in a skid whenever you turn. And the needle will tell you what you should already know, wheather you're turning left or right.


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## N4521U (Mar 29, 2013)

If it's a turn and bank indicator, it's like a level. A curved upwards class with a bubble in it. There are no electrics to it. It just sits there and tells you if you are in a co-ordinated turn, or not. I doubt if this instrument would give you any useful information. You wouldn't want to put a car in the "attitude" this instrument measures.

Basically, if you turn the yoke, or move the stick sideways, the bubble moves down the glass off center, telling you the wings are no longer level, but you are still not in a turn. To make the plane turn, you must pull back the yoke/stick to "climb" up the turn, not gaining altitude. The tail is now "slipping" outwards, so you must put in some rudder and the bubble gets centered at the bottom between two lines. This is referred to as a Co-ordinted turn, meaning everything is centered in the turn. You no longer feel like your being pushed across the seat. If you had your eyes closed, in a standard turn you would feel no turn at all.

What you may be after is something to give you G's, force of the turn.

IMO
Bill


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## stona (Mar 29, 2013)

N4521U said:


> If it's a turn and bank indicator, it's like a level. A curved upwards class with a bubble in it. There are no electrics to it.
> Bill


Isn't that the slip indicator?
I thought a turn indicator was a gyroscopic instrument. 
This is not really my thing so I'll gladly be corrected and enlightened 
Cheers
Steve


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## mikeaaron353 (Mar 29, 2013)

here is a picture of it if that helps:


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## N4521U (Mar 29, 2013)

Okay, the bottom is giving you the degree of bank, 10, 20 30, 40 degrees, the top is rudder, I believe. 
Same as the bubble in the tube. Still not going to do anything to indicate what you are after in your Triumph.
Although, it would be cool. A card compass would be neat as well.


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## gumbyk (Apr 2, 2013)

The bottom is giving you rate of turn (rate 1 is 15º per second) It will be gyro driven (either air or electric, modern instruments are electric)

The top indicates whether the turn is balanced or not, and is probably driven by a pendulum arrangement.

Neither will give an angle of bank, but bank can be approximated through the rate of turn and airspeed.

If you were to fit this instrument to your car, then it would indicate a skid every time you went around a corner, and, chances are, the rate of turn indicator would be at full scale defelction for most of your turns.


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## N4521U (Apr 2, 2013)

I stand corrected.


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## gumbyk (Apr 7, 2013)

I only know because I fly behind one of these in the Tiger...


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