Plain English Meaning

The airplane's natural tendency to point its nose back into the oncoming air after something pushes the tail sideways. If a gust kicks the tail to the left, a directionally stable airplane swings its nose back into the wind on its own.

Full Definition

The tendency of an airplane to weathervane its nose back into the relative wind after being disturbed in yaw. Directional stability is provided primarily by the vertical tail (fin), which generates a restoring side force whenever the aircraft is sideslipping, pulling the nose back toward alignment with the airflow.

Context Anchor

Encountered when learning airplane , use, handling, and how the airplane responds after a gust or input.