Plain English Meaning

All the different forces that try to swing the airplane's nose sideways during flight, and which the pilot counters with the rudder pedals.

Full Definition

The collective tendencies that cause an airplane's nose to rotate left or right around its vertical axis, produced by factors such as torque, propeller slipstream, P-factor, gyroscopic precession, adverse aileron drag, and crosswinds. These effects must be recognized and corrected with rudder to maintain coordinated flight.