Rotating a figure
 

This is a problem that I have run into that so far I have yet to find a solution for:

In the attached file, when you hit the play button, you will see that the figure rotates side-to-side initially, but as the figure turns and gets closer and closer to a 90 degree angle, instead of moving side-to-side, it moves forward - backward.

The goal is to retain the side-to-side motion as the figure turns.

The rotation is controlled by MEL coding, but I have not found a way to code it so that the side-to-side motion is consistant as the figure turns . . . . any ideas?