So how do pilots who fly above clouds keep from doing the graveyard spiral? Do their instruments somehow tell them if they're turning?,(reply>), I know I'm late, but to be precise there are 6 instruments that we use. In order from top left-bottom right, Airspeed Indicator, Attitude Indicator (or artificial horizon), altimeter, Turn Coordinator, Heading Indicator and Vertical Speed Indicator. Normally the Attitude Indicator would tell a pilot what attitude the airplane has with the horizon. Both the Attitude Indicator and Heading Indicator are usually Vacuum Driven, do if there is a vacuum failure, a pilot could use the electrically driven turn coordinator, airspeed indicator and altimeter in a pinch to escape from the instrument conditions. It does take special training though to fly safely in cloud.,(reply>), @Mika Rajala Ah, by "the ball thingy" I thought they meant the artificial horizon and more generally, gyro-driven instruments, which do indicate turns. The ball in the sideslip indicator doesn't indicate a turn.,(reply>), +totoritko I was replying to the "Ball thingy" Finn was telling about. The thing is part of an instrument also known as Turn-and-slip Indicator. I'm not certain what you did not understand, can you elaborate? Yes, if you turn without the correct amount of banking/roll, you 'skid' and the 'ball thingy' is a basic instrument you can see this on.<br><br>My point was that you cannot use the 'ball thingy' to see if your plane is turning or not, it might be offset from the bottom when you aren't turning and it shouldn't be offset when you are.<br><br>I made my point because previous discussion was about how you can see if you are turning or not when you don't see anything but the instrument panel. My point was that, at least, you need the 'Turn indicator' instrument that has a gyro in it. Artificial horizon works as well, but is not available on all aircraft.,(reply>), @Mika Rajala Eh? What you're saying doesn't make sense, but I might be misunderstanding your use of some aviation terminology. "Turning" in aviation means rotation around an axis perpendicular to level ground (the Z axis) and it is directly measured using a directional gyro and displayed on a heading indicator.,(reply>), +Finn Haggar Yes and no. Yes they do have a little ball thingy, but it tells the axis of acceleration of the plane. In level flight, gravity keeps it at the bottom. When you turn, the acceleration induced by the turning must be offset by rolling the plane to keep it at the "bottom". A useful tool, but doesn't tell if you are turning or not. Since we were discussing how to tell if the plane is turning or not, so no.