In aircraft wing design, dihedral refers to which of the following?

• A. The angle of sweep of the wing relative to the fuselage.
• B. The upward angle of the wings from root to tip.
• C. The downward angle of the wingtips toward the fuselage.
• D. The curvature of the wing's leading edge.

Answer: (B)

Dihedral is the upward angle of the wings from the root to the tip. This tilt gives the airplane lateral stability: when the aircraft banks, the lower wing tends to generate more lift relative to the higher wing, producing a restoring roll toward level flight. In other words, the geometry helps the aircraft stay stable in roll without constant pilot input. This is different from sweep, which is the wing’s backward tilt relative to the fuselage; anhedral would be a downward tilt of the wingtips, reducing lateral stability; and leading-edge curvature relates to airfoil shape, not the dihedral effect.