Definition
Pressure applied to the rudder pedal on the inside of a turn — that is, the rudder pedal on the same side as the direction the airplane is turning. In a left turn, inside rudder is left rudder; in a right turn, inside rudder is right rudder. Excess inside rudder pressure during a turn produces a skidding turn and is a key ingredient in the cross-control stall.
Plain English
Pushing on the rudder pedal on the side you're turning toward. If you're turning left, it's the left pedal; turning right, it's the right pedal.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of skidding turns and cross-control stalls, especially when turning from base toward final approach.
Derivation
“Inside” means the side closer to the center of a turn. “Rudder” comes from older words for a steering oar on a boat, which helps because an airplane rudder also steers the nose left or right. “Pressure” here means the pilot’s foot force on the pedal.
Why Pilots Care
Using it incorrectly with opposite aileron creates a skid that can turn a stall into a spin entry.
Intuition Check
“Inside” does not mean inside the cockpit here; it means the side toward the center of the turn. “Pressure” does not mean air pressure; it means steady foot force on the rudder pedal.
Example Sentence 1
On the base-to-final turn, the student overshot the runway centerline and added inside rudder pressure to swing the nose around, which caused the airplane to skid.
Example Sentence 2
Excessive inside rudder pressure near stall speed caused the nose to swing further left and the aircraft to enter a spin.