Definition
A rate gyro whose spin axis is tilted (canted) at an angle rather than aligned with a single aircraft axis, allowing one gyro to sense rotation about two axes at once — typically yaw and roll. It is commonly used in turn coordinators to detect both rate of turn and rate of roll.
Plain English
A spinning sensor mounted on a slant so that, instead of measuring turning in just one direction, it can pick up two kinds of motion at the same time — how fast the aircraft is rolling into a turn and how fast it is turning.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft instrument systems, especially in the turn coordinator.
Derivation
‘Canted’ comes from an old word meaning ‘slanted’ or ‘tilted at an angle.’ ‘Rate gyro’ means a gyroscope that measures how fast something is rotating. Together, the term describes a rotation-sensing gyro that is deliberately tilted so it can sense more than one axis of motion.
Why Pilots Care
The canted rate gyro is what makes the turn coordinator show roll input as well as turn rate, giving the pilot earlier feedback when entering or leaving a turn. If this gyro fails or its instrument flag appears, the turn coordinator cannot be trusted for rate-of-turn information.
Intuition Check
Canted does not mean the gyro is crooked by mistake. Here it means the gyro is intentionally mounted at an angle so the instrument can sense the desired motion.
Example Sentence 1
The turn coordinator uses a canted rate gyro so it can show the pilot both roll rate and turn rate on a single instrument.
Example Sentence 2
A canted rate gyro allows the turn coordinator to show both rate of turn and wing attitude from a single instrument.