UNIT-1

HISTORY OF FLIGHT



















UNIT-II
BASICS OF FLIGHT MECHANICS
Airfoils
An airfoils shape is defined by several parameters, which are shown in the figure
below.
Airfoil Definitions
Chord Line: Straight line drawn from the leading edge to the trailing edge
Chord Length (c): Length of the chord line
Mean Camber Line: Curved line from the leading edge to the trailing edge, which
is equidistant between the upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil
Maximum (or Just) Camber: Maximum distance between the chord line and the
mean camber line.
Maximum Thickness: Maximum distance between the upper and lower surfaces of
the airfoil normal to the chord line.
Span: Width of the airfoil.
Angle of Attack: Angle between the chord line and the streamwise flow direction.
Zero Lift Angle of Attack: Angle of Attack that will produce no lift. For our
symmetric wedge this would be an angle of attack of zero.
Stall Angle of Attack: Angle of attack at which there is maximum lift (or lift
coefficient)
Symmetric or Uncambered Airfoil: Upper and lower surfaces are mirror images,
which leads to the mean camber line to be coincident with the chord line. A
symmetric airfoil will also have a just camber of zero.
Cambered Airfoil: An asymmetric airfoil for which the mean camber line will be
above the chord line.
Pitching Moment: Torque or moment created on the wing due to net lift and drag
forces. Tends to rotate the leading edge either up or down.
Uncambered Airfoil
Cambered Airfoil
ME 440 Aerospace Engineering Fundamentals Fall 2006
3
Pitching Moment Coefficient:
V Sc
2
1
m
c
2
m


where
m: pitching moment (will depend on the moment reference center)
c: chord length
Center of Pressure: The moment reference center for which the moment is zero.
Depends on the angle of attack.
Aerodynamic Center: The moment reference center for which the moment does
not vary with angle of attack.
NACA Classification
Airfoils have been classified by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA), the forerunner of NASA, and have been cataloged using a four digit
code. Hence a specific airfoil can be identified by NACA WXYZ where
W: maximum camber as % of the chord length
X: Location of the maximum camber form the leading edge along the chord
line in tenths of chord length
Y&Z: Maximum thickness in % of the chord length


















UNIT-III
AIRCRAFT CONFIGURATIONS

Different types of flight vehicles:
Classification of aircraft:
1. CLASSIFICATION BY CONFIGURATION
POSITION OF THE WING
LOW WING
MID WING
HIGH WING
NUMBER OF WINGS
MONO PLANE
BI PLANE
TRI PLANE
SHAPE OF THE WINGS
DELTA WING
DIAMOND WING
SWEPT WING
GULL SHAPED WING
POSITION OF THE WINGS
CONVENTIONAL WING
NO TAIL OR TAILESS
HORIZONTAL TAIL LOCATED AOVE THE VERTICAL
TAIL
CANARD TYPE
LOCATION AND TYPE OF LANDING GEAR
RETRACTABLE
NON RETRACTABLE
TAIL WHEEL
NOSE WHEEL
CLASSIFICATION BY POWER PLANTS
POWER PLANT TYPES
PISTON ENGINE
TURBO PROP
TURBO SHAFT
TURBO JET
TURBO FAN
ROCKET
NUMBER OF ENGINES
SINGLE ENGINE
TWO ENGINE
MULTI ENGINE
LOCATION OF THE ENGINES
NOSE
FUSELAGE
JET ENGINE SUBMERGED IN WING
PYLON MOUNTING
TYPES OF FUSELAGE
ROUND
SQUARE
OVAL
5. CLASSIFICATION BY PURPOSE
A. CIVIL
B. CARGO
C. MILITARY
I. BOMBERS
II. FIGHTERS
III. INTERCEPTORS

Components of an Airplane and their Functions:
An airplane contains the following important component sections:
1. Fuselage
2. Wings
3. Empennage
4. Landing gear
5. Propulsion system
The following figures show the isometric and extended view of basic components of an
airplane.









1. Fuselage:
Fuselage is the main body of an airplane which contains cabin /cockpit which provides
space for crew members and flight controls for aircraft. Fuselage also provides space for
passengers and payloads. It gives attachment points for some other aircraft components like
wing. There are three kinds of fuselage structure. They are:
1. Truss structure,
2. Monocoque structure and
3. Semi monocoque structure.

2. Wings:
The wings are lifting devices in which series of airfoils are attached. It is placed in each
side of the fuselage and they are the main lifting surfaces that support the airplane in flight. The
cross- section of the wing is called as airfoil.

There are numerous wing designs, sizes, and shapes used by the various manufacturers.
Each fulfills a certain need with respect to the expected performance for the particular airplane.
Wings may be attached at the top, middle, or lower portion of the fuselage. These designs are
referred to as high-, mid-, and low-wing, respectively. The number of wings can also vary.
Airplanes with a single set of wings are referred to as monoplanes, while those with two sets are
called biplanes.
Monoplane: An airplane that has only one main lifting surface or wing, usually divided
into two parts by the fuselage.
Biplane: An airplane that has two main airfoil surfaces or wings on each side of the
fuselage, one placed above the other.
3. Empennage:
The correct name for the tail section of an airplane is empennage. The section of the
airplane that includes the entire tail group, consisting of fixed surfaces such as horizontal
stabilizer and vertical stabilizer and the movable surfaces such as rudder, elevator and one or
more trim tabs.


A second type of empennage design does not require an elevator. Instead, it incorporates
a one-piece horizontal stabilizer that pivots from a central hinge point. This type of design is
called a stabilator.
4. Landing gear:
The landing gear is the principle support of the airplane when parked, taxiing, taking off,
or when landing. The most common type of landing gear consists of wheels, but airplanes can
also be equipped with floats for water operations, or skis for landing on snow. The landing gear
consists of three wheelstwo main wheels and a third wheel positioned either at the front or rear
of the airplane. Landing gear employing a rear mounted wheel is called conventional landing
gear. Airplanes with conventional landing gear are sometimes referred to as tail wheel airplanes.
When the third wheel is located on the nose, it is called a nose wheel, and the design is referred
to as a tricycle gear. A steerable nose wheel or tail wheel permits the airplane to be controlled
throughout all operations while on the ground.
5. Propulsion system:
The powerplant usually includes both the engine and the propeller or simply the engine
(Turbojet, ramjet and scramjet). The primary function of the engine is to provide the power to
turn the propeller. It also generates electrical power, provides a vacuum source for some flight
instruments, and in most single-engine airplanes, provides a source of heat for the pilot and
passengers. The engine is covered by a cowling, or in the case of some airplanes, surrounded by
a nacelle. The purpose of the cowling or nacelle is to streamline the flow of air around the engine
and to help cool the engine by ducting air around the cylinders. The propeller, mounted on the
front of the engine, translates the rotating force of the engine into a forward - acting force called
thrust that helps move the airplane through the air.

Nacelle: A streamlined enclosure on an aircraft in which an engine is mounted. On
multiengine propeller-driven airplanes, the nacelle is normally mounted on the leading edge of
the wing.

CONVENTIONAL CONTROL
Whenever an airplane changes its flight altitude or position in flight, it rotates about one
or more of three axes, which are imaginary lines that pass through the airplanes centre of
gravity. The three axes are as follows:
1. Roll axis or longitudinal axis,
2. Pitch axis or lateral axis and
3. Yaw axis or vertical axis.
The axis system has been given below:



An airplane moves in three dimensions called
1. Roll,
2. Pitch and
3. Yaw.
Roll:
Roll is rotation about the longitudinal axis that goes down the center of the fuselage. The
ailerons control rotation about the roll axis.
Pitch:
Pitch is rotation about the lateral axis of rotation, which is an axis parallel to the long
dimension of the wings. The elevators control the pitch of the airplane. By controlling the pitch
of the airplane, the elevators also control the angle of attack of the wing. To increase the angle of
attack, the entire airplane is rotated up.
Yaw:
Yaw, which is controlled by the rudder, is rotation about the vertical axis, which is a line
passing vertically through the center of the wing.
It is important to note that all three axes go through the center of gravity (often
abbreviated c.g.) of the airplane. The center of gravity is the balance point of the airplane. Or,
equivalently, all of the weight of the airplane can be considered to be at that one point.
CONTROL SURFACES
The purpose of flight control is to enable the aircraft to be rotated about its three axes.
Aircraft flight control systems are classified as primary and secondary. The primary control
systems consist of those that are required to safely control an airplane during flight. These
include the ailerons, elevator (or stabilator), and rudder. Secondary control systems improve the
performance characteristics of the airplane, or relieve the pilot of excessive control forces.
Examples of secondary control systems are wing flaps and trim systems.
Primary Control Surfaces:
Ailerons:
Ailerons control roll about the longitudinal axis. The ailerons are attached to the outboard
trailing edge of each wing and move in the opposite direction from each other. Ailerons are
connected by cables, bellcranks, pulleys or push-pull tubes to each other and to the control
wheel. Moving the control wheel to the right causes the right aileron to deflect upward and the
left aileron to deflect downward. The upward deflection of the right aileron decreases the camber
resulting in decreased lift on the right wing. The corresponding downward deflection of the left
aileron increases the camber resulting in increased lift on the left wing. Thus, the increased lift
on the left wing and the decreased lift on the right wing cause the airplane to roll to the right.
Elevator:
The elevator controls pitch about the lateral axis. Like the ailerons on small airplanes, the
elevator is connected to the control column in the cockpit by a series of mechanical linkages. Aft
movement of the control column deflects the trailing edge of the elevator surface up. This is
usually referred to as up elevator. Moving the control column forward has the opposite effect.
When the elevator is deflected downwards, elevator camber increases, creating more lift
(less tail-down force) on the horizontal stabilizer/elevator. This moves the tail upward and
pitches the nose down. Similarly when the elevator is deflected upwards, the elevator camber
decreases, creating less lift on horizontal stabilizer and thus the pitches the nose of the airplane
up.
Rudder:
The Rudder controls movement of the airplane about its vertical axis. This motion is
called yaw. Like the other primary control surfaces, the rudder is a movable surface hinged to a
fixed surface, in this case, to the vertical stabilizer, or fin. Moving the left or right rudder pedal
controls the rudder. When the rudder is deflected into the airflow, a horizontal force is exerted in
the opposite direction. By pushing the left pedal, the rudder moves left. This alters the airflow
around the vertical stabilizer/rudder, and creates a sideward lift that moves the tail to the right
and yaws the nose of the airplane to the left. Rudder deflections increases with speed, so large
deflections at low speeds and small deflections at high speeds may be required to provide the
desired reaction. In propeller-driven aircraft, any slipstream flowing over the rudder increases its
effectiveness.


SECONDARY CONTROL SURFACES
The secondary control surfaces are as follows:
Flaps,
Leading edge devices,
Spoilers,
Speed brakes and
Trim system:
Trim tabs,
Balance tabs,
Antiservo tabs,
Spring tabs and
Ground adjustable tabs.