Principles of Flight +

Introduction to
Aerodynamics
What do we mean by Airplane?
 Fixed wing ex C172, or B 737-800 NG
 Piston or turbine
 Single or multi engine
 Glider (powerless)
 Rotary Wing – helicopter
 Seperate license from fixed wing although some theory subjects overlap
What parts make it an Airplane?

 The Fuselage
 The cabin might be the term
you’re used to as a
passenger
 It is the body of the aircraft
that carries the payload:
passengers, suitcases, food
trolleys, seats etc.

Fig: Fuselage (shaded area)

What parts make it an Airplane?

 The Wings
 We’ve got to get the
cyclinder off the ground
somehow!
 Form/type follows function
 Wings are the answer to
overcome the force of
gravity.
 High wing vs low wing designs
What parts make it an Airplane?

 The Engine (propeller, turboprop, jet

etc)
 The act of THRUST – We need to move
forward before we can move up!
 Every stick your hand out the window
of your car?? What happens when the
car is moving vs when it’s not moving?
 The ACTION of thrust – air getting
pushed back causes the REACTION of
moving the airplane forward
 Newton’s 3rd law- but don’t worry we
won’t go into that just yet! 
What parts make it an Airplane?

 4) Undercarriage, or the wheels.

We can’t go anywhere effectively
without it!
 Helps propel us forward, steer
(nosewheel castor) and also helps
us stop(brake pads)
 Retractable or fixed
 Tricycle (most common) vs
tailwheel configuration – what’s
the difference and why does it
matter?
The Very Basics: How does an Aircraft
fly?
 First, we must know a few things about air:
 It’s invisible to us but is actually made up of stuff i.e. - it has mass.
 Gravity: pulls all objects which have mass to the center of the earth.

 It’s the key to why airplanes can fly the same way boats need water to go
anywhere!
 78% N, 21% O, 1% CO2 + trace gases
 Engines suck in the air where it’s mixed with fuel, ignited, and pushed rearwords to push
us forward!
The Very Basics: How does an Aircraft
fly?
 As the wing moves forward, air
molecules interact with the wing
above and below creating:
 high vs low pressure area. Air
moves faster on top of wing (low
pressure area) compared to below
(high pressure area)
 It’s this difference in pressure that
creates LIFT!
 See for yourself! Blowing on top of
small piece of paper example

Not quite!
Basic Aircraft Structure

 Primary Control Surfaces:

 Elevator: controls pitch
 Rudder: controls yaw
 Ailerons: controls roll

 Secondary Control Surfaces:

 Flaps
 Trim tabs
 Leading edge devices
Basic Aircraft Structure
 Only 3 axes of rotation that aircrafts can move in
 Lateral axis = elevator
 Longitudinal axis = ailerons
 Vertical axis = rudder
Basic Aircraft Structure

 Notice the main parts and structures

stay the same despite the larger size.
 Who can label the parts based on the
labeling we did for the small aircraft?

Fig: Boeing 737-800 NG skeleton

Cockpit Introduction

• Cessna 172R – the most popular training aircraft in the world

Cockpit Introduction
 Many, many different types but the previous slide illustrates typical layout of a
training aircraft.
 Important elements: (Can you point them all out?)
 Dual controls
 Flight Instruments (six-pack)
 Compass
 Radio, navigation aids
 Control column
 Power level
 Rudder pedals

Fig: Basic six-pack

Boeing 737NG

• Notice that the same information in the “six pack” from the C172 is displayed, but
just in a more condensed way.
• Scanning becomes easier
Part II: Introduction to Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics

 The study of how airplanes are able to

fly based on science
 Remember that 99% of pilots are not
engineers! We are interested in the
important concepts in aerodynamics and
their implications for when we fly. Don’t
get intimidated by the formula’s and the
science!
 We are simply interested in the basics
The 4 main forces of flight

1. Weight  the effect of gravity which

wants to pull the airplane toward the earth’s
center
 Everything that has mass will experience the
force of gravity
 Made up of the physical weight of the
aircraft plus it’s payload
 Acts vertically downward as a force
The 4 main forces of flight

2. Lift  forced developed through airflow interaction

with the wing which directly opposes weight.
 acts vertically upward as a force
 Increased lift always leads to increased drag
The 4 main forces of flight

3. Thrust  Overcomes drag and pushes the plane horizontally forward

 Throttle lever in cockpit increses engine RPM which increases thrust
 Indirectly affects flight path to climb or descent based on power setting
The 4 main forces of flight

4. Drag  Air resistance which opposes thrust

 Acts to slow the plane down
 Can be useful (ex flaps and speedbrakes) however has a high penalty in regards to
efficiency.
 Aircraft engineers aim to minimize drag as much as possible
Bernoulli’s Principle
 Bernoulli discovered that total pressure in a fluid
remains constant no matter what you do to it.
 Total Pressure made up of:
 Static Pressure- when molecules are not moving -
i.e. just their weight
 Dynamic Pressure – when molecules are moving
 He found that if air is accelerated through a
venturi tube, the air would move quickest at the
narrowest part and static pressure would decrese.
During the wider parts, the air moved slower and
static pressure increased.
How does Bernoulli’s pinciple relate to
an airplane?
 The airflow over and under a wing
behaves the same way as airflow through
a venturi!
 Because of the shape of the wing, air
moves faster over the top side compared
to the bottom side.
 Molecules will always want to go from
high pressure to low pressure
 Ex1: getting sucked out of an airplane at
high altitude!
 Ex2: blow on the top edge of a small
piece of paper and see what happens!
 Net Effect is air wants to move UP – this
is lift acting!
The Lift Formula
The Lift Formula
 CL = Coefficient of lift
 Made up of the angle of attack (AOA) and the shape or curvuture of the the wing
which is called camber. More camber = more lift!
 AOA is the angle which the airflow interacts with the wing leading edge. Changed
through pilot using the elevator.
The Lift Formula

 Ƿ = Air Density
 It is a measure of mass per unit volume
(kg/m3)
 Elevator analogy.
 Warm air is LESS dense than cold air.
 Air density decreases with altitude
 What happens to lift if air density
decreases?
 Hint: put any lower density in the formula
and see what happens to lift
The Lift Formula
 V2= Velocity
 A measure of our speed (knots)
 Indicated Airspeed (IAS) which we
read on our airspeed indicator (ASI) in
the cockpit
 Manipulated through changes in
power.
 Technically, velocity is slightly
different than speed
(S=Distance/Time) but it can be
viewed as the same for our purposes.
The Lift Formula
 S = Surface Area of the Wing (M2)
 Increased surface area means that more
air will interact with the wing which
will increase the lift!
 Can anybody think of a downside to
this? (hint: 1 of the 4 forces we talked
about!)
 Like alot of things in life, it’s about
balance and engineers will play with
ratios based on the goal of the aerofoil
operation.
Structure of an Aerofoil

Chord length: distance between leading edge and trailing edge of wing
Camber: Curvuture of wing. More camber increases lift and decreases drag compared to a wing with no
camber.
Mean camber line: average of upper and lower camber
Angle of Attack (AOA): angle between the chordline and the relative airflow
The importance of the Angle of Attack
(AOA)
 As you increase AOA, you increase lift, as the
pressure difference increases between the top and
bottom edge. Sounds good right? Not quite...

The major downside:

 The airflow changes from streamline to turbulent as

you continue to increase AOA causing airflow
seperation from the wing up to the critical AOA.
 The transition point - where airflow transforms from
streamline to turbulent, moves forward as a result.
This basically destroys lift as the airflow doesnt flow
smoothly over the wing anymore.
Stalling

 Occurs when the critical AOA has been reached and the airflow over the top
of the wing has seperated.
 Speed causes the stall indirectly. This can vary depending on the weight, flap
settings, power etc.
 Aircraft flight manuals will have the stall speeds based on different weights and
configurations
 Aircraft will inevitably descend – typically nose down
 Symptoms of of a stall include: buffeting/vibration, airspeed loss, controls
feel sloppy, stall warning sound.
Cargo Plane Stall
 Cargo supplies slide to rear of plane during takeoff causing the center of gravity
to move back. Aircraft nose pushes up as a result leading to a stall and a very sad
outcome.
Introduction to Drag

 Drag is the air resistance an aircraft has to fight as it moves forwards.

Remember air is made up of millions of physical molecules.
 Commonly referred to as the enemy of high speed flight
 Types of Drag
 Induced drag – associated with lift. Ex wingtip vortices
 Parasite drag – occurs with higher speeds.
Induced drag

 Occurs at low airspeeds and high angles of

attack.
 Seen as an unavoidable consequence of
lift.
 Result in wingtip vortices: spirals of
turbulent air that result from air moving
from the bottom side of the outer edge of
the wing (high pressure) to the upperside
of the wing (low pressure)
 Most pronounced in big jets that are
heavy/slow and something light aircraft
have to be on the watch for!
 Technique to avoid wing vortices
Parasite Drag

 The goal of the engineers is to minimise drag as much as possible for efficiency
 Parasite Drag occurs more at higher speed and is made up of:
1. Form drag
2. Skin Friction drag
3. Interference drag
The Main Phases of Flight

 Climbing
 Straight and Level
 Descending
 Turns
The main phases of flight
 measured in rate of climb (feet per minute) or angle of climb (pitch attitude)
 Maximum rate of climb (Vy) – will get you to your assigned height the fastest. Most commonly
used.
 Maximum angle climb (Vx) – very useful to avoid obstacles! Climb speed will be slower due to
higher pitch angle however.
 Cruise climb – climbing at a higher airspeed, thus shallower angle. Typically used enroute.
Forces Acting in a Climb

 In a climb, lift is decreased due to

rearward component of weight
force.
 Thrust must not only overcome
drag but also this extra component
of weight.
 Power, airspeed, weight, flaps,
temperature, bank angle and wind
all affect climb performance
differently.
 Straight and Level Flight
 In S&L flight, the pilot can pretty much fly hands off assuming that
the aircraft has been properly trimmed.
 Trim wheel in the cockpit reduces control pressures.

 All 4 forces balance themselves out:

 Thrust=drag
 Lift=weight

Fig: C172 trim-wheel

The Descent
 Typically requires reduced thrust to maintain a required speed. Control comes
through power setting and attitude.
 Best glidespeed ensures most efficient descent. Typical descent angle is 3
degrees.
 Normal rate of descent ~ 500-1000fpm.
 Factors affecting descent: power, airspeed, flap settings, wind, weight, and
angle of bank.
Turning
 As we roll the aircraft to turn on the
ailerons:
 Some of the vertical component of lift
becomes horizontal (centripetal) which
pulls the aircraft into the turn.
 As a result, total weight > lift and we must
apply back-pressure to increase lift to
maintain our altitude.
 Load factor or G: the weight of gravity on
an object
 Increases with a steeper turn.
 2 G’s = the feeling of twice your bodyweight.
Typical in a 60 degree bank.
 1 G is what you’re feeling right now sitting.
Turning
 Medium Turn: Typically 25-30 degree
bank angle
 Steep Turn: >45 degrees bank angle
 The Importance of Balance:
 We need to keep the nose in line with
the relative airflow, or we will
encounter sideslip. This results in
increased drag and is uncomfortable
for passengers and inefficient!
 Rudder is used to counter this in the
direction of the turn.
Circuits
 First phase of training for student pilots and it will be how you do your “first
solo!”
 Rectangular pattern around the aerodrome made up of 4 legs: upwind,
crosswind, downwind and base. Small aircraft will do it at 1000ft above ground
level (AGL)
 Takes less than 10 minutes!
 Very useful exercise:
 Provides traffic seperation
 Allows time to assess conditions such as runway surface and wind
 Provides consistent position to begin final approach at from almost the same place and
height.
Circuits