> I have been working on a jet fighter model for over 6 months now and I 
> have come
> to the point where it is worthy to be animated.  The only thing is, I have 
> no
> idea where the rotation point of the plane should be.  Let me elaborate. 
> From
> my understanding, an airplane may rotate along the yaw axis (the rotation 
> the
> rudder controls), the roll axis (which is controlled by the ailerons), and 
> last
> the pitch axis (controlled by the elevators).  In most diagrams I've seen 
> these
> three axis of rotation meet at a single point and this is the point I 
> don't
> know how to find.  My only guess is that it would be the centroid.  Any 
> help
> would be greatly appreciated.

Use the centre of mass, as it will make the calculation of rotations easier 
when forces are applied to the control surfaces on the plane.  But really 
you can use any point because there is no such thing as a fixed "rotation 
centre" in real life - eg while doing a loop the rotation centre is at the 
centre of the loop, while flying across the atlantic it is at the centre of 
the Earth etc.

I would imagine that for a jet fighter the centre of mass will be about 1/3 
of the way from the main landing gear towards the front landing gear, 
judging by the beefyness of the wheels :-)

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