Q: Is rudder a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other conveyance that moves through a fluid medium? ¶
A: Yes, On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane.
Q: Is rudder usually attached to the fin which allows the pilot to control yaw about the vertical axis, i.e? ¶
A: Yes, change the horizontal direction in which the nose is pointing.
Q: Is rudder controlled by two lines? ¶
A: Yes, and each attached to a crosspiece mounted on the rudder head perpendicular to the plane of the rudder blade.
Q: Are rudders uniformly suspended at the back of the ship in a central position? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Were rudders found in archaeological excavations? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is rudder "part of the steering apparatus of a boat or ship that is fastened outside the hull"? ¶
A: Yes, that is denoting all different types of oars, paddles, and rudders.
Q: Are rudders hung on the stern or transom? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Are rudders hung from a keel or skeg and are thus fully submerged beneath the hull? ¶
A: Yes, and connected to the steering mechanism by a rudder post which comes up through the hull to deck level, often into a cockpit.
Q: Is rudder subject to considerable forces that determine its position via a force or torque balance equation? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Were rudders found in Europe on a wide range of vessels since Roman times? ¶
A: Yes, and including light war galleys in Mediterranean, the oldest known depiction of a pintle-and-gudgeon rudder can be found on church carvings of Zedelgem and Winchester dating to around 1180.
Q: Is rudder operated by pedals via mechanical linkages or hydraulics? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Are rudders more specifically called quarter-rudders as the later term designates more exactly the place where the rudder was mounted? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is rudder a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern? ¶
A: Yes, and tail, or after end.
Q: Were rudders not supported by pintle-and-gudgeon as in the Western tradition? ¶
A: Yes, rather, they were attached to the hull by means of wooden jaws or sockets, while typically larger ones were suspended from above by a rope tackle system so that they could be raised or lowered into the water.
Q: Is rudder a directional control surface along with the rudder-like elevator and ailerons that control pitch and roll? ¶
A: Yes, and respectively.
Q: Are rudders shaped so as to minimize hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is rudder mainly used to align the aircraft with the runway during crosswind landing and take-off? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Were rudders mounted on the stern by the way of rudderposts or tackles? ¶
A: Yes, and the iron hinges allowed for the first time to attach the rudder to the entire length of the sternpost in a really permanent fashion.