Elements of Aeronautics Introduction to Aircra ft & Aircraft Structures and Materials

Module – 1

INTRODUCTION TO AIRCRAFT & AIRCRAFT

STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS
Syllabus:
Introduction to Aircrafts: History of aviation; Atmosphere and its properties;
Classification of aircrafts; Basic components of an aircraft; aircraft axis system; aircraft
motions; control surfaces and high lift devices; conventional design configurations;
principle of operation of each major part; Helicopters, their parts and functions.
Aircraft Structures and Materials: Introduction; structural members;general types of
construction; monocoque, semi-monocoque and geodesic structures; typical wing and
fuselage structure; metallic and non-metallic materials for aircraft application.

1. Explain with neat sketch monocoque, semi monocoque and

truss structures of aircrafts.
Or
With suitable diagrams explain Fuselage structures.
Types of Fuselage Structures / Types Aircraft Constructions

Truss or framework Type:

• A truss is a rigid framework made up of members, such as beams, struts, and bars
to resist deformation by applied loads. The truss-framed fuselage is generally
covered with fabric.
• This consists of light gauge steel tubes which form a frame triangular shape to give
the most rigid of geometric forms. Each tube carries a specific load, the magnitude
of which depends on whether the aircraft is airborne or on the ground.
• The truss-type fuselage frame is usually constructed of steel tubing welded together
in such a manner that all members of the truss can carry both tension and
compression loads.
• This type of fuselage is commonly found on the first few generations of aircraft.
They are strong, moderately easy to manufacture, but did not necessarily implement
the concept of aerodynamic.

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Monocoque Construction:

• ‘Monocoque’ is a French word meaning ‘single shell’. All the loads are taken by a
stressed skin with just light internal frames or formers to give the required shape.
Monocoque structure was the improved version of truss structure.
• It provides the close structure by covering the entire body by sheet of metal and
achieves the smooth flow of air that reduces the drag.
• Since it is basically egg shell like structure, most of the strength is provided by skin
(sheet of metal). As the results it increases the internal space.
• Although it practically can carry more load, the drawback of this type is that it may
require maintenance more compared to the other designs, as the structure needs to
be reinforced in order to maintain the structural integrity.

Semi-Monocoque Construction:

• As aircraft became larger, the pure Monocoque was found not to be strong enough.

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• Designers came with a new concept to make fuselage stronger; the Longerons run
lengthwise along the fuselage joining the frames together.
• The light alloy skin is attached to the frames and longerons by riveting or adhesive
bonding.
• Doublers are required when cut-outs are made to provide access panels, doors or
windows.
• Bulkheads isolate different sections of the aircraft, for instance the engine
compartment from the passenger compartment. Bulkheads are of much stronger
construction than frames or formers, as the loads upon them are so much greater.
• This concept is widely used both in military and also in the commercial industry.

Geodesic Construction:

• It is the very recent approach of building the structure adopted in the fighter jets.
• Here the structure is divided into small panel like structure and each panel is
strengthen by the separate structural members, so the each panel is independent of
taking load and not depends upon the neighboring panel to take its load.
• Now even though one panel fails or broken also it does not affect the entire
structure.

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2. Explain on detail with application metallic and non metallic

materials used in aircraft.
Or
Discuss in detail about the developments in the material for an
aircraft.
Metallic and non-metallic materials for aircraft
application/Developments in the material for an aircraft.

An aircraft must be constructed of materials that are both light and strong. Early
aircraft were made of wood. Lightweight metal alloys with a strength greater than wood
were developed and used on later aircraft. Materials currently used in aircraft construction
are classified as either metallic materials or nonmetallic materials.

Metallic Materials:

The most common metals used in aircraft construction are aluminum, magnesium,
titanium, steel, and their alloys.

Alloys:

• An alloy is composed of two or more metals.

• The metal present in the alloy in the largest amount is called the base metal.
• All other metals added to the base metal are called alloying elements.
• Adding the alloying elements may result in a change in the properties of the base
metal.
• For example, pure aluminum is relatively soft and weak. However, adding small
amounts or copper, manganese, and magnesium will increase aluminum's strength
many times.
• Heat treatment can increase or decrease an alloy's strength and hardness.
• Alloys are important to the aircraft industry. They provide materials with properties
that pure metals do not possess.

Aluminum alloys:

• Aluminum alloys are widely used in modern aircraft construction.

• Aluminum alloys are valuable because they have a high strength-to-weight ratio.
• Aluminum alloys are corrosion resistant and comparatively easy to fabricate.

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• The outstanding characteristic of aluminum is its lightweight.

Magnesium alloys:

• Magnesium is the world's lightest structural metal.

• It is a silvery-white material that weighs two-thirds as much as aluminum.
• Magnesium is used to make helicopters.
• Magnesium's low resistance to corrosion has limited its use in conventional
aircraft.

Titanium alloys:

• Titanium is a lightweight, strong, corrosion resistant metal.

• Recent developments make titanium ideal for applications where aluminum alloys
are too weak and stainless steel is too heavy.
• Additionally, titanium is unaffected by long exposure to seawater and marine
atmosphere.

Steel Alloys:

• Alloy steels used in aircraft construction have great strength, more so than other
fields of engineering would require.
• These materials must withstand the forces that occur on today's modern aircraft.
• These steels contain small percentages of carbon, nickel, chromium, vanadium,
and molybdenum.
• High-tensile steels will stand stress of 50 to 150 tons per square inch without
failing.
• Such steels are made into tubes, rods, and wires.

Nonmetallic Materials:

In addition to metals, various types of plastic materials are found in aircraft

construction. Some of these plastics include transparent plastic, reinforced plastic,
composite, and carbon-fiber materials.

Transparent Plastic:

• Transparent plastic is used in canopies, windshields, and other transparent

enclosures.

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• You need to handle transparent plastic surfaces carefully because they are
relatively soft and scratch easily.
• At approximately 107 degree C, transparent plastic becomes soft and pliable.

Reinforced Plastic:

• Reinforced plastic is used in the construction of radomes, wingtips, stabilizer tips,

antenna covers, and flight controls.
• Reinforced plastic has a high strength-to-weight .
• Because it is easy to fabricate, it is equally suitable for other parts of the aircraft.
• Reinforced plastic is a sandwich-type material.

Composite and Carbon Fiber Materials:

• High-performance aircraft require an extra high strength-to-weight ratio material.

Fabrication of composite materials satisfies this special requirement.
• Composite materials are constructed by using several layers of bonding materials
(graphite epoxy or boron epoxy).
• These materials are mechanically fastened to conventional substructures.
• Another type of composite construction consists of thin graphite epoxy skins
bonded to an aluminum honeycomb core.
• Carbon fiber is extremely strong, thin fiber made by heating synthetic fibers, such
as rayon, until charred, and then layering in cross sections.

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3. Explain with neat sketch, the principles operation of Helicopter

and their functions.
Helicopters

Principle of operation:

Most helicopters the engine turns a shaft that connects to an input quill on the
transmission; the main rotor mast comes straight out of the top of the transmission and the
tail rotor driveshaft connects to an output quill 90 degrees out from the mast.

Spinning the rotor which has an aerofoil section causes lift, allowing the
helicopter to rise vertically or hover.

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Tilting the spinning rotor will cause flight in the direction of the tilt.

The tail rotor is very important. If you spin a rotor using an engine, the rotor will
rotate, but the engine and the helicopter will try to rotate in the opposite direction. This is
called Torque Reaction.

The tail rotor is used like a small propeller, to pull against torque reaction and
hold the helicopter straight.

Main parts and their functions:

• Main rotor blade -- The main rotor blade performs the same function as an airplane's
wings, providing lift as the blades rotate -- lift being one of the critical aerodynamic
forces that keeps aircraft aloft. A pilot can affect lift by changing the rotor's
revolutions per minute (rpm) or its angle of attack, which refers to the angle of the
rotary wing in relation to the oncoming wind.

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• Stabilizer -- The stabilizer bar sits above and across the main rotor blade. Its weight
and rotation dampen unwanted vibrations in the main rotor, helping to stabilize the
craft in all flight conditions. Arthur Young, the gent who designed the Bell 47
helicopter, is credited with inventing the stabilizer bar.
• Rotor mast -- Also known as the rotor shaft, the mast connects the transmission to
the rotor assembly. The mast rotates the upper swash plate and the blades.
• Transmission -- Just as it does in a motor vehicle, a helicopter's transmission
transmits power from the engine to the main and tail rotors. The transmission's main
gearbox steps down the speed of the main rotor so it doesn't rotate as rapidly as the
engine shaft. A second gearbox does the same for the tail rotor, although the tail
rotor, being much smaller, can rotate faster than the main rotor.
• Engine -- The engine generates power for the aircraft. Early helicopters relied on
reciprocating gasoline engines, but modern helicopters use gas turbine engines like
those found in commercial airliners.

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4. Explain with neat sketches, the high lift devices.

In aircraft design and aerospace engineering, a high-lift device is a component or
mechanism on an aircraft's wing that increases the amount of lift produced by the wing.
The device may be a fixed component, or a movable mechanism which is deployed when
required. Common movable high-lift devices include wing flaps and slats. Fixed devices
include leading edge root extensions and boundary layer control systems, which are less
commonly used.

There are many different types of flaps depending on the size, speed, and complexity
of the aircraft they are to be used on, as well as the era in which the aircraft was designed.
Plain flaps, slotted flaps, and Fowler flaps are the most common trailing edge flaps. Flaps
used on the leading edge of the wings of many jet airliners are Krueger flaps, slats, and
slots (Notice that slots are not explicitly flaps, but more precisely boundary layer control
devices).

The plain flap is the simplest flap and it is used in light . The basic idea is to design the
airfoil so that the trailing edge can rotate around an axis. The angle of that deflexion is the
flap deflexion δf . The effect is an increase in the camber of the airfoil, resulting in an
increase in the coefficient of lift.

Another kind of trailing edge high-lift device is the slotted flap. The only difference
with the plain flap is that it includes a slot which allows the extrados and intrados to be
communicated. By this mean, the flap deflexion is higher without the boundary layer
dropping off.

The last basic trailing edge high-lift device is the flap Fowler. This kind of flap
combines the increase of camber with the increase in the chord of the airfoil (and therefore
the wet surface). This fact increases also the slope of the lift curve. Combining the different
types, there exist double and triple slotted Fowler flaps, combining also the control of the
boundary layer. The Fairey-Youngman, Gouge, and Junkers flaps combine some of the
exposed properties.

The last trailing edge high-lift device is the split flap (also refereed to as intrados flap).
This flap provides, for the same increase of lift coefficient, more drag but with less torque.

The most important leading edge high devices are: slot, the leading edge drop flap, and
the flap Krueger.

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The slot is a slot in the leading edge. It avoid the dropping off of the boundary layer by
communicating extrados and intrados. The leading edge drop has the same philosophy as
the plain flap, but applied in the leading edge instead of the trailing edge. The Kruger flaps
works modifying the camber of the airfoil but also acting in the control of the boundary
layer.

Types of high-lift devices:

Effects of high lift devices in airfoil flow, showing configurations for normal, take-off,
landing, and braking:

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5. Write a short on Aircraft Axes system with relevant figures.

Or
Explain with neat diagram showing CG, lateral axis, vertical axis
and longitudinal axis with reference airplane
Aircraft Axis System

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In flight, any aircraft will rotate about its center of gravity, a point which is the
average location of the mass of the aircraft. We can define a three dimensional coordinate
system through the center of gravity with each axis of this coordinate system perpendicular
to the other two axes. We can then define the orientation of the aircraft by the amount of
rotation of the parts of the aircraft along these principal axes.

• The yaw axis is defined to be perpendicular to the plane of the wings with its origin
at the center of gravity and directed towards the bottom of the aircraft. A yaw
motion is a movement of the nose of the aircraft from side to side.
• The pitch axis is perpendicular to the yaw axis and is parallel to the plane of the
wings with its origin at the center of gravity and directed towards the right wing tip.
A pitch motion is an up or down movement of the nose of the aircraft.
• The roll axis is perpendicular to the other two axes with its origin at the center of
gravity, and is directed towards the nose of the aircraft. A rolling motion is an up
and down movement of the wing tips of the aircraft.

In flight, the control surfaces of an aircraft produce aerodynamic forces. These

forces are applied at the center of pressure of the control surfaces which are some distance
from the aircraft cg and produce torques (or moments) about the principal axes. The torques
cause the aircraft to rotate. The elevators produce a pitching moment, the rudder produces
a yawing moment, and the ailerons produce a rolling moment. The ability to vary the
amount of the force and the moment allows the pilot to maneuver or to trim the aircraft.

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6. Summarize the major stepping stones to controlled, heavier than

air and powered flight with a human pilot.
19th And 20th Century Efforts:

1891 Otto Lilienthal: German engineer, Otto Lilienthal, studied aerodynamics and
worked to design a glider that would fly. He was the first person to design a glider that
could fly a person and was able to fly long distances. He was fascinated by the idea of
flight. Based on his studies of birds and how they fly, he wrote a book on aerodynamics
that was published in 1889 and this text was used by the Wright Brothers as the basis for
their designs. After more than 2500 flights, he was killed when he lost control because of
a sudden strong wind and crashed into the ground.

1891 Samuel P. Langley: Samuel Langley was an astronomer, who realized that
power was needed to help man fly. He built a model of a plane, which he called an
aerodrome that included a steam-powered engine. In 1891, his model flew for 3/4s of a
mile before running out of fuel. Langley received a $50,000 grant to build a full sized
aerodrome. It was too heavy to fly and it crashed. He was very disappointed. He gave up
trying to fly. His major contributions to flight involved attempts at adding a power plant to
a glider. He was also well known as the director of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington,
DC.

1894 Octave Chanute: Octave Chanute published Progress in Flying Machines in

1894. It gathered and analyzed all the technical knowledge that he could find about aviation
accomplishments. It included all of the world's aviation pioneers. The Wright Brothers used
this book as a basis for much of their experiments. Chanute was also in contact with the
Wright Brothers and often commented on their technical progress.

Orville and Wilbur Wright: Orville and Wilbur Wright were very deliberate in their
quest for flight. First, they read about all the early developments of flight. They decided to
make "a small contribution" to the study of flight control by twisting their wings in flight.
Then they began to test their ideas with a kite. They learned about how the wind would
help with the flight and how it could affect the surfaces once up in the air. The next step
was to test the shapes of gliders much like George Cayley did when he was testing the many
different shapes that would fly. They spent three years testing and learning about how
gliders could be controlled at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The early engine that they
designed generated almost 12 horsepower. That's the same power as two hand -propelled

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lawn mower engines. The "Flyer" lifted from level ground to the north of Big Kill Devil
Hill, North Carolina, at 10:35 a.m., on December 17, 1903. Orville piloted the plane which
weighed about six hundred pounds. The first heavier-than-air flight traveled one hundred
twenty feet in twelve seconds. The two brothers took turns flying that day with the fourth
and last flight covering 850 feet in 59 seconds. But the Flyer was unstable and very hard to
control. The brothers returned to Dayton, Ohio, where they worked for two more years
perfecting their design. Finally, on October 5, 1905, Wilbur piloted the Flyer III for 39
minutes and about 24 miles of circles around Huffman Prairie. He flew the first practical
airplane until it ran out of gas.

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7. Derive and describe the hydrostatic equation and also state the
relation between geopotential and geometric altitudes.
Hydrostatic Equation

Consider the small stationary fluid element of air shown in Fig. 3.3. We take for
convenience an element with rectangular faces, where the top and bottom faces have sides
of unit length and the side faces have an infinitesimally small height dh G.

On the bottom face, the pressure p is felt, which gives rise to an upward force of
(p x 1 x 1) exerted on the fluid element.

The top face is slightly higher in altitude (by the distance dhG); and because pressure
varies with altitude, the pressure on the top face will differ slightly from that on the bottom
face by the infinitesimally small value dp.

Hence, on the top face the pressure p + dp is felt. It gives rise to a downward force
of (p + dp)(1)(1) on the fluid element.

Moreover, the volume of the fluid element is (1 )(1) dhG = dhG; and because ρ is the
mass per unit volume, the mass of the fluid element is simply P(l )(1) dhG = ρ dhG.

If the local acceleration of gravity is g, then the weight of the fluid element is
(gρdhG), as shown in Fig. 3.3.

The three forces shown in Fig. 3.3-pressure forces on the top and bottom, and the
weight-must balance because the fluid element is not moving. Hence

…. (3)

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Equation (3) is the hydrostatic equation and applies to any fluid of density ρ.

Strictly speaking, Eq. (3) is a differential equation; that is, it relates an

infinitesimally small change in pressure dp to a corresponding infinitesimally small change
in altitude dhG, where in the language of differential calculus, dp and dhG are differentials.
Also note that g is a variable in Eq. (3); g depends on ha as given by Eq. (2).

To be made useful, Eq. (3) should be integrated to give what we want: the variation
of pressure with altitude p = p (hG). To simplify the integration, we make the assumption
that g is constant throughout the atmosphere, equal to its value at sea level go .

Hence we can write Eq. (3) as:

… (4)
For the practical mind, geopotential altitude is a ''fictitious" altitude, defined by Eq.
(4) and that is physically compatible with the assumption of g = const =go .

Relation between Geopotential and Geometric altitudes

The variation of p with geometric altitude p = p(h a). The variation of p with geopotential
altitude p = p(h). We need to relate h to ha, So dividing Eq. (4) by (3), we obtain

…. (5)

We substitute Eq. (1) into (5):

…. (6)

By convention, we set both h and hG equal to zero at sea level. Now consider a given
point in the atmosphere. This point is at a certain geometric altitude h G, and associated with
it is a certain value of h (different from h G). Integrating Eq. (6) between sea level and the
given point, we have

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…. (7)

Where h is geopotential altitude and hG is geometric altitude. This is the desired

relation between the two altitudes. When we obtain relations such as p= p(h), we can use
Eq. (7) to subsequently relate p to hG.

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8. Describe about primary and secondary control surfaces with

suitable diagrams.
Aircraft Control Surfaces

The directional control of a fixed-wing aircraft takes place around the lateral,
longitudinal, and vertical axes by means of flight control surfaces designed to create
movement about these axes. These control devices are hinged or movable surfaces through
which the attitude of an aircraft is controlled during takeoff, flight, and landing. They are
usually divided into three major groups: 1) primary or main flight control surfaces and 2)
secondary and 3) auxiliary control surfaces.

Primary Flight Control Surfaces:

• The primary flight control surfaces on a fixed -wing aircraft include: ailerons,
elevators, and the rudder.
• The ailerons are attached to the trailing edge of both wings and when moved, rotate
the aircraft around the longitudinal axis.
• The elevator is attached to the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer. When it is
moved, it alters aircraft pitch, which is the attitude about the horizontal or lateral
axis.
• The rudder is hinged to the trailing edge of the vertical stabilizer. When the rudder
changes position, the aircraft rotates about the vertical axis (yaw).

Secondary Control Surfaces:

• Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface
on an aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or

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aerodynamic forces and stabilize the aircraft in a particular desired attitude without
the need for the operator to constantly apply a control force. This is done by
adjusting the angle of the tab relative to the larger surface.
• A servo tab is a small hinged device installed on an aircraft control surface to assist
the movement of the control surfaces.

Auxiliary Control Surfaces:

• Flaps and control surfaces and these are hinged surfaces, usually at the trailing edge
(the back edge) of the wings and tail that can be rotated up or down. The function
of a flap is to increase the lift force on the airplane;
• Some aircraft are designed with flaps at the leading edge (Slats) of the wings as well
as at the trailing edge. Slats are used at takeoff and landing to produce additional
force.
• The spoilers are also used during landing to slow the plane down and to counteract
the flaps when the aircraft is on the ground. The next time you fly on an airplane,
notice how the wing shape changes during takeoff and landing.

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9. With suitable diagrams explain wing structures

Wing Structure/Construction

The wing is the principal structural unit of the airplane. It has several functions
beyond that of providing lift. For a wing to produce "lift", it must be oriented at a suitable
angle of attack relative to the flow of air past the wing. In aerodynamics, angle of attack
(AOA) specifies the angle between the chord line of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft and
the vector representing the relative motion between the aircraft and the atmosphere.

On larger airplanes the engines are mounted in nacelles either attached to the wing
or mounted in the wing. The nacelles also provide a housing for the landing gear when it is
retracted. The space within the wing is usually used for fuel storage.

The main geometrical features of a wing are its span; the area of the wing; its
dihedral angle; its sweepback angle; and the wing section.

Dihedral angle is the upward angle of an aircraft's wing, from the wing root to the
wing tip. The amount of dihedral determines the amount of inherent stability along the roll

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axis. Although an increase of dihedral will increase inherent stability, it will also d ecrease
lift, and increase drag.

The design of the wing depends on the size, weight, and use of the airplane.
Generally, there are two kinds of wing design: cantilever and semi-cantilever. The semi-
cantilever usually has one, or perhaps two, supporting wires or struts attached to each wing
and the fuselage.

As far as the internal structure is concerned, there are three general types of
conventional wings: monospar, two-spar, and multispar. Stringers are longitudinal
members which are attached to the upper and lower skin to make it stiff. They are used in
the design of a wing with stressed skin. Ribs are the basic elements of the wing structure
which give the wing section its shape and also transmit the air loads from the skin to the
spars.

Many of the control functions are provided by special devices built into the wing.
Most obvious are the ailerons and landing flaps.

Flaps are high lift devices. There are many different types of flaps used, with the
specific choice depending on the size, speed and complexity of the aircraft on which they
are to be used, as well as the era in which the aircraft was designed. Plain flaps, slotted
flaps, and Fowler flaps are the most common. Krueger flaps are positioned on the leading
edge of the wings and are used on many jet airliners.

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The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air. The leading edge
may be equipped with e.g. leading edge extensions, leading edge slats, leading edge slots,
vortex generators.

The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where
the airflow separated by the leading edge rejoins. Essential control surfaces are attached
here to redirect the air flow and exert a controlling force by changing its momentum. Such
control surfaces include ailerons on the wings for roll control, elevators on the tailplane
controlling pitch and the rudder on the fin controlling yaw. Elevators and ailerons may be
combined as elevons on tailless aircraft.

Other surfaces and equipment that may be attached to the trailing edge of an
aircraft's wing or on its control surfaces include: trim tabs, servo tabs, anti-servo tabs, and
flaps.

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10. Define the following: Aeronautical Engineering, Aircraft,

Airplane, Aerospace Engineering, Aerodynes.
Or
Define aeronautics, aircraft and airplane
Aeronautical Engineering: The branch of engineering concerned with the design,
production, and maintenance of aircraft.

Aircraft: An aircraft is a vehicle or machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the
air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of
an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.

Airplane: A powered flying vehicle with fixed wings and a weight greater than that of the
air it displaces; an aeroplane.

Aerospace Engineering: Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering

concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and
overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering.

Aerodynes: A heavier-than-air aircraft (such as an airplane, helicopter, or glider) —

compare aerostat.

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11. Describe the functions of: Winglet, Spoilers, Stabilizers,

Cockpit.
Basic components of aircraft

• The fuselage is the center body, where most of the usable volume of the airplane is
found. The fuselage carries people, baggage, other payload, instruments, fuel, and
anything else that the airplane designer puts there.
• The wings are the main lift-producing components of the airplanes; the left and
right wings are identified as you would see them from inside the airplane, facing
forward. The internal volume of the wings can be used for such items as fuel tanks
and storage of the main landing gear (the wheels and supporting struts) after the
gear is retracted.

• The horizontal and vertical stabilizers are located and sized so as to provide the
necessary stability for the airplane in flight. Sometimes these surfaces are called the
horizontal and vertical tails, or fins.
• When the engines are mounted from the wings, they are usually housed in a type of
shroud called a nacelle.
• Flaps and control surfaces and these are hinged surfaces, usually at the trailing edge
(the back edge) of the wings and tail that can be rotated up or down. The function
of a flap is to increase the lift force on the airplane;

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• Some aircraft are designed with flaps at the leading edge (Slats) of the wings as
well as at the trailing edge. Slats are used at takeoff and landing to produce
additional force.
• The ailerons are control surfaces that control the rolling motion of the airplane
around the fuselage. For example, when the left aileron is deflected downward and
the right aileron is deflected upward, lift is increased on the left wing and decreased
on the right wing, causing the airplane to roll to the right.
• The elevators are control surfaces that control the nose up-and-down pitching
motion; when the elevator is deflected downward, the lift on the tail is increased,
pulling the tail up and the nose of the airplane down.
• The rudder is a control surface that can turn the nose of the airplane to the right or
left (called yawing).

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12. List the description of several aspects of an aircraft

configuration.
Wing Configuration

Wings are airfoils that, when moved rapidly through the air, create lift. They are
built in many shapes and sizes. Wing design can vary to provide certain desirable flight
characteristics. Control at various operating speeds, the amount of lift generated, balance,
and stability all change as the shape of the wing is altered. Both the leading edge and the
trailing edge of the wing may be straight or curved, or one edge may be straight and the
other curved. One or both edges may be tapered so that the wing is narrower at the tip than
at the root where it joins the fuselage. The wing tip may be square, rounded, or even
pointed. Below figure shows a number of typical wing leading and trailing edge shapes.

The wings of an aircraft can be attached to the fuselage at the top, mid-fuselage, or
at the bottom. They may extend perpendicular to the horizontal plain of the fuselage or can
angle up or down slightly. This angle is known as the wing dihedral. The dihedral angle
affects the lateral stability of the aircraft. Below figure shows some common wing attach
points and dihedral angle.

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Biplane:

In a biplane aircraft, as two wings are placed one above the other. Both provide part
of the lift, although they are not able to produce twice as much lift as a single wing of
similar size and shape because the upper and the lower are working on nearly the same
portion of the atmosphere and thus interfere with each other's behavior.

Stagger:

• Stagger is the horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in

relation to one another.

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• An aircraft is said to have positive stagger, or simply stagger, when the upper wing
is positioned forward of the lower (bottom).
• An aeroplane is said to have negative stagger in unusual cases where the upper wing
is positioned behind the lower wing.
• An aircraft with the wings positioned directly above each other is said to have
unstaggered wings.

Decalage:

• Decalage on a fixed-wing aircraft is the angle difference between the upper and
lower wings of a biplane, i.e. the acute angle contained between the chords of the
wings in question.
• The decalage is said to be positive when the upper wing has a higher angle of
incidence than the lower wing, and negative when its angle of incidence is lower.
Positive decalage results in greater lift from the upper wing than the lower wing,
the difference increasing with the amount of decalage.
• Decalage angle can also refer to the difference in angle of the chord line of the wing
and the chord line of the horizontal stabilizer.

Monoplane:

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast
to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed-
wing aircraft.

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13. Explain wit neat sketch, the aircraft motions.

Aircraft Motion

By simplified motion we mean that some of the four forces acting on the aircraft
are balanced by other forces and that we are looking at only one force and one direction at
a time. In reality, this simplified motion doesn't occur because all of the forces are
interrelated to the aircraft's speed, altitude, orientation, etc. But looking at the forces ideally
and individually does give us some insight and is much easier to understand.

In an ideal situation, an airplane could sustain a constant speed and level flight in
which the weight would be balanced by the lift, and the drag would be balanced by the
thrust. The closest example of this condition is a cruising airliner. While the weight
decreases due to fuel burned, the change is very small relative to the total aircraft weight.
In this situation, the aircraft will maintain a constant cruise velocity as described by
Newton's first law of motion.

If the forces become unbalanced, the aircraft will move in the direction of the
greater force. We can compute the acceleration which the aircraft will experience from
Newton's second law of motion

F=m*a

Where a is the acceleration, m is the mass of the aircraft, and F is the net force acting
on the aircraft. The net force is the difference between the opposing forces; lift minus

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weight, or thrust minus drag. With this information, we can solve for the resulting motion
of the aircraft.

If the weight is decreased while the lift is held constant, the airplane will rise:

Lift > Weight - Aircraft Rises

If the lift is decreased while the weight is constant, the plane will fall:

Weight > Lift - Aircraft Falls

Similarly, increasing the thrust while the drag is constant will cause the plane to accelerate:

Thrust > Drag - Aircraft Accelerates

And increasing the drag at a constant thrust will cause the plane to slow down:

Drag > Thrust - Aircraft Slows

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14. Why we are discussing these altitudes and their dependencies?

Need for ISA and agency prescribing it:

The properties of earth’s atmosphere like pressure, temperature and density vary
not only with height above the earth’s surface but also with the location on earth, from day
to day and even during the day. The performance of an airplane is dependent on the physical
properties of the earth’s atmosphere. Hence, for the purpose of comparing (a) the
performance of different airplanes and (b) the performance of the same airplane measured
in flight tests on different days, a set of values for atmospheric properties have been agreed
upon, which represent average conditions prevailing for most of the year, in Europe and
North America.

Though the agreed values do not represent the actual conditions anywhere at any
given time, they are useful as a reference. This set of values called the International
Standard Atmosphere (ISA) is prescribed by ICAO (International Civil Aviation
Organization). It is defined by the pressure and temperature at mean sea level, and the
variation of temperature with altitude up to 32 km. With these values being prescribed, it
is possible to find the required physical characteristics (pressure, temperature, density etc)
at any chosen altitude.

Features of ISA:

The main features of the ISA are the standard sea level values and the variation of
temperature with altitude. The air is assumed as dry perfect gas. The standard sea level
conditions are as follows:

• Temperature (T0 ) = 288.15 K = 150 C

• Pressure (P0 ) = 101325 N/m2 = 760 mm of Hg
• Rate of change of temperature:
= - 6.5 K/km up to 11 km
= 0 K/km from 11 to 20 km
= 1 K/km from 20 to 32 km

The region of ISA from 0 to 11 km is referred to as troposphere. That between 11

to 20 km is the lower stratosphere and between 20 to 32 km is the middle stratosphere.

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15. Describe the major components of a piston engine airplane

with neat diagrams.

Fuselage - The body of the airplane. The wings, tail, and engine are attached to the
fuselage.

Wing - I'm sure you know what a wing is. It's the horizontal airfoil that produces lift. The
ailerons and flaps are hinged to the wing.

Ailerons - hinged surfaces on the outside of the wing that swing up and down. While the
right aileron hinges up, the left aileron hinges down. And vice versa. These surfaces control
the roll of the airplane.

Tail - The rear section of the plane that consists of a horizontal stabilizer and a vertical
stabilizer. The elevator hinges to the horizontal stabilizer. The rudder hinges to the vertical
stabilizer.

Elevator - hinged surfaces on the horizontal part of the tail that swings up and down. These
surfaces control the pitch of the airplane.

Rudder - hinged surface on the vertical part of the tail that swings left and right. This
surface controls the yaw of the airplane.

Flaps - hinged surfaces on the wing just inside the ailerons. The flaps hinge down to
increase lift on take off and landing.

Engine - Provides the power to turn the propeller to produce thrust for sustaining flight.

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Propeller - A turning blade or twisted airfoil that produces thrust when powered by the
engine.

Spinner - The nose cone that covers the hub of the propeller. Helps smooth the airflow over
the engine. Is where you place the electric starter on an RC airplane.

Cockpit - where the pilot sits while flying the plane. Houses all the controls and
instrumentation.

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Additional Topics:

1.1 Classification of Aircrafts

An aircraft is a machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters
the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in
a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.

Lighter than air aircraft (Aerostats):

• The first flying object.

• Density is very less compare to the density of air.
• It easily float on the air.
• They are airships, free balloons and captive balloons.

Airship:

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• An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that

can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from large
gas bags filled with a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.
• Non-rigid airships, often called "blimps", rely on internal pressure to maintain the
shape of the airship.
• Semi-rigid airships maintain the envelope shape by internal pressure, but have some
form of supporting structure, such as a fixed keel, attached to it.
• Rigid airships have an outer structural framework which maintains the shape and
carries all structural loads, while the lifting gas is contained in one or more internal
gas bags or cells.
• It is used for transportation in earlier days(19 century)
• Now a days it is used for advertisement, surveillance, sight-seeing, research.

Balloon:

• A balloon is a kind of aircraft that stays in the sky by floating.

• A balloon has no engine and has no way to change its direction of movement (except
up and down). A balloon travels by moving with the wind.

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• The bottom of the balloon is called the "basket" where people can sit or stand. The
top of a balloon is a big cloth bag called the "envelope".
• A captive balloon is an aircraft which does not fly free, but is held like a kite by a
rope from the "pilot" or mooring. The rope or line is not only used for holding the
aircraft, but it also allows steering the balloon.
• There are three kinds of balloon aircraft:
• Hot air balloons stay in the sky by making the air inside the envelope hot.
Making the air hot makes the air spread out (have lower density). Hot air
balloons are the most common kind of balloon aircraft.
• Gas balloons are not hot. Gas balloons have gas of low density in their
envelopes. Examples of the gas used in gas balloons are heliumand hydrogen.
• Rozière balloons are like both hot air balloons and gas balloons.
• How the Balloon Works:
• The basis of how the balloon works is that warmer air rises in cooler air. This
is because hot air is lighter than cool air as it has less mass per unit of volume.
• The actual balloon (called an envelope) has to be so large as it takes such a
large amount of heated air to lift it off the ground.
• Increasing the air temperature inside the envelope makes it lighter than the
surrounding (ambient) air.
• The balloon floats because of the buoyant force exerted on it. The amount of
lift (or buoyancy) provided by a hot air balloon depends primarily upon the
difference between the temperature of the air inside the envelope and the
temperature of the air outside the envelope.
• For most envelopes made of nylon fabric, the maximum internal temperature
is limited to approximately 120 °C
• The burner uses propane gas to heat up the air in the envelope to move the
balloon off the ground and into the air.
• The pilot must keep firing the burner at regular intervals throughout the flight
to ensure that the balloon continues to be stable.
• Naturally, the hot air will not escape from the hole at the very bottom of the
envelope as firstly, hot air rises and secondly, the buoyancy keeps it moving
up.

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Heavier than air aircrafts (Aerodynes):

Ornithopter:

• An ornithopter (from Greek ornithos "bird" and pteron "wing") is an aircraft that
flies by flapping its wings.
• Designers seek to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though
machines may differ in form, they are usually built on the same scale as these flying
creatures.
• Manned ornithopters have also been built, and some have been successful.
• The machines are of two general types: those with engines, and those powered by
the muscles of the pilot.

Rotorcraft:

• A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors.
This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly
forward, backward, and laterally.
• An autogyro also known as a gyroplane or gyrocopter, is a type of rotorcraft that
uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is
provided independently, typically by an engine-driven propeller.

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Airplane:

An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a powered, fixed-wing aircraft that

is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller.

Glider, Kite:

A glider is a heavier-than-air aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic

reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an
engine.

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