Generation of lift & drag forces and

determination of basic flight forces and

manoeuvre forces
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Atmospheric air, aerofoil and the relative movement constitutes the basis of flight forces
that keeps the aircraft airborne. Manipulation of the flight forces is the key to flight
control and flight manoeuvre.
1.2 GENERATION OF AERODYNAMIC REACTIONS
1.2.1 Aerodynamic reaction due to airflow: Flight forces are the result of aerodynamic
reactions. Aerodynamic reaction is the effect of airflow over the aerofoil. In theory of
flight, aerodynamics is mainly concerned with three distinct things:
Aerofoi
Relative Air Velocity Or Relative Wind
Atmosphere
When an aircraft flies, air of the atmosphere flows over its wings. Wings are the aero foils.
Air velocity over it is the relative wind. Result of the aerodynamic reaction is the force called
Total Air Reaction (TAR) is a force. Lift and Drag are two components of TAR. Generations
of these forces are related to the aerodynamic characteristic of the aerofoil in relation to the
relative airflow over and under it.
Before explaining production of Lift and Drag forces due to aerodynamic reactions on an
aerofoil, effect airflow over a simple flat plate will be explained first. Then, a curbed plate
will be taken for better effect and finally aerofoil will be taken as a practical aerodynamic
surface.
1.2.2 Effect of airflow Flow over a flat plate: When a body is moved through the air, or any
fluid that has viscosity, such as water, there is a resistance produced which tends to oppose
the body. For example, if you are driving in an open top car, there is a resistance from the air
acting in the opposite direction to the motion of the car. This air resistance can be felt on your
face or hands as you travel. In the aeronautical world, this air resistance is known as drag. It
is undesirable for obvious reasons. For example, aircraft engine power is required to
overcome this air resistance and unwanted heat is generated by friction as the air flows over
the aircraft hull during flight.
We consider the effect of air resistance by studying the behaviour of airflow over a flat plate.
If a flat plate is placed edge on to the relative airflow (Figure 1.1), then there is little or no
alteration to the smooth passage of air over it. On the other hand, if the plate is offered into
the airflow at some angle of inclination to it angle of attack (AOA), it will experience a
reaction that tends to both lift it and drag it back. This is the same effect that you can feel on
your hand when placed into the airflow as you are travelling, e.g. in the open topped car

mentioned earlier. The amount of reaction depends upon the speed and AOA between the flat
plate and relative airflow.
As can be seen in Figure 1.1, when the flat plate is inclined at some AOA to the relative
airflow, the streamlines are disturbed. An upwash is created at the front edge of the plate
causing the air to flow through a more constricted area, in a similar manner to flow through
the throat of a Venturimeter. The net result is that as the airflows through this restricted area,
it speeds up. This in turn causes a drop in static pressure above the plate (as explained in the
Bernoullis principle) when compared with the static pressure beneath it resulting in a net
upward reaction. After passing the plate, there is a resulting downwash of the air stream.
The total reaction on the plate caused by it disturbing the relative airflow has two vector
components as shown in Figure 1.2. One at right angles to the relative airflow known as lift
and the other parallel to the relative airflow, opposing the motion, known as drag.
The above drag force is the same as that mentioned earlier, which caused a resistance to the
flow of the air stream, over your hand.

Figure 1.2: Nature of reaction of relative airflow on flat plate

The effect may be summarized as follows: if a flat plate is inclined in a moving
stream of air, the air flowing over the upper surface decreases in pressure. This
creates a depression over the upper surface which produces a sucking effect on

the plate. At the same time, the higher pressure on the underside of the plate
produces an upward force.
Lift is the force which overcomes the weight of the aircraft which acts vertically
downwards. We are interested in how much of the lifting force is acting vertically
upwards. This is done by splitting the total reaction into two component forces,
one vertical and one horizontal. The horizontal force adds to the total drag on the
aircraft and is referred to as lift induced drag.

1.2.3 Production of lift on a curbed plate:

An improvement on the flat plate is one with a curved front. This tends to produce a smoother
flow of air over the upper surface and produces a total reaction, which is nearer to the
vertical. This gives higher lift and lower drag. See Figure 1.3.
The airflow across a curved plate remains smooth at higher angle attack than the flat plate.

Figure 1.3: Reaction of relative airflow on curbed plate

1.2.4 Lift on an aerofoil: Flat and curved plates have little strength and
resistance to bending and torsion and are not suitable for aircraft wings. The
modern aerofoil required depth of section to resist bending and must form a box
structure to resist torsion whilst still retaining the basic curved plate shape.
Flow maintains the shape of the body over which it is flowing over the aerofoil
set at an AOA much greater than that could be set for a flat of curbed plate. As a
result, a greater lift force may be created keeping drag to a minimum value. As is
illustrated in Figure 1.4, stream line flow is maintained over the surface of an
aerofoil where it can be seen that the successive cross sections are represented

by lines that run parallel to one another hugging the shape of the body around
which the fluid is flowing. Aerofoil is further discussed in subsequent sections.

Figure 1.4: Airflow over an aerofoil section

Figure 1.5: Air reaction due to airflow over aerofoil profile

The aerofoil as an aerodynamic surface:

1.3.1 General: In its simplest sense an aero foil section may be defined as that profile
designed to obtain a desirable reaction from the air through which it moves. In other words,
an aerofoil is able to convert air resistance into a useful force that produces lift for flight.

The cross-section of an aircraft wing is a good example of an aerofoil section, where the top
surface
usually
has
greater
curvature
than
the
bottom
surface.
The air travelling over the cambered top surface of the aerofoil shown in Figure 1.4, which is
split as it passes around the aerofoil, will speed up, because it must reach the trailing edge of
the aerofoil at the same time as the air that flows underneath the section. In doing so, there
must be a decrease in the pressure of the airflow over the top surface that results from its
increase in velocity (Bernoullis principle).
1.3.2 Aerofoil terminology: We have started to talk about such terms as: camber, trailing
edge and AOA without defining them fully. Set out below are a few useful terms and
definitions about airflow and aero foil sections that are frequently used frequently throughout
the discussion of generation of aerodynamic forces on aerofoil sections. (Figure 1.5, 1.6)
Camber is the term used for the upper and lower curved surfaces of the aerofoil section.
Where the mean camber line is that line drawn halfway between the upper and lower
cambers.
Chord line is the line joining the centres o f curvatures of the leading and trailing edges.
Note that this line may fall outside the aerofoil section dependent on the amount of camber of
the aerofoil being considered.
Leading and trailing edge are those points on the centre of curvature of the leading and
trailing part o f the aero foil section that intersect with the chord line as shown in Figure1.6
Angle of incidence (AOI) is the angle between the relative airflow and the longitudinal axis
of the aircraft. It is a built-in feature of the aircraft and is a fixed rigging angle. On
conventional aircraft, the AOI is designed to minimize drag during cruise thus maximizing
fuel consumption!
Angle of attack (AOA) is the angle between the chord line and the relative airflow. This will
vary, dependent on the longitudinal attitude of the aircraft, with respect to the relative airflow
as you will see later.

Figure 1.6: Aerofoil terminology

aerofoil section to its chord length normally expressed as a percentage. It is
sometimes referred to as the fineness ratio and is a measure of the aerodynamic
thickness
of
the
aerofoil.
The aerofoil shape is also defined in terms of its t/c ratio. The aircraft designer
chooses that shape which best fits the aerodynamic requirements of the aircraft.
Light aircraft and other aircraft that may fly at low velocity are likely to have a
highly
cambered thick aerofoil section; where the air flowing over the upper camber is
forced to travel a significantly longer distance than the airflow travelling over the
lower camber. This results in a large acceleration of the upper airflow
significantly increasing speed and correspondingly reducing the pressure over
the upper surface.
These high lift aerofoil sections may have a t/c ratio of around 15%, although the
point of maximum thickness for these high lift aero foils can be as high as 2530%. The design will depend on whether forward speeds are of more importance
compared to maximum lift. Since, it must be remembered that accompanying
the large increase in lift that thick aerofoil sections bring, there is also a
significant increase drag. However, thick aerofoil sections allow the use of deep
spars and have other advantages, such as more room for fuel storage and for the
stowage of the undercarriage assemblies.
Thin aerofoil sections are preferred on high speed aircraft that spend time flying
at transonic and supersonic speeds. The reason for choosing slim wings is to
reduce the time spent flying in the transonic range, where at these speeds the
build up of shockwaves create stability and control problems. We need not
concern ourselves here with the details of high speed flight; this will be
addressed comprehensively in outcome 3. However, it is worth knowing that the
thinner the aerofoil sections then the nearer to sonic speed an aircraft can fly
before the effects of shockwave formation take effect. What limit the fineness
ratio of aerofoil sections is their structural strength and rigidity, as well as
providing sufficient room for fuel and the stowage of the undercarriage. A
selection of aerofoil sections is shown in Figure 1.7.

Concorde has an exceptional fineness ratio (3-4%) because of its very long chord length
resulting from its delta wings. It can therefore alleviate the problems of flying in the transonic
range as well as providing sufficient room for fuel and the stowage of its undercarriage
assemblies. In general, fineness ratios (t/c ratios) of less than 7% are unusual (Figure 1.8).
With regard to the under surface alterations in the camber have less effect. A slightly concave
camber will tend to increase lift, but convex cambers give the necessary thickness to allow
for the fitment of deeper and lighter spars. The convex sections are also noted for limiting the
movement of the centre of pressure (CP).

Figure 1.7: t/c ratio for some common aerofoil sections

Figure 1.8: The exceptional thin delta wing of Concorde

This limitation is most marked where the lower camber is identical to that of the upper
camber giving a symmetrical section. Such sections have been adopted for medium and high
speed main aerofoil sections and for some tail plane sections.
1.3.3 Aerofoil Profiles: There are different Profiles & Shapes of aerofoil. Profile of an
aerofoil gives a shape to an aerofoil. According to the profile, shapes may be:

Double convex symmetrical

Double convex non-symmetrical
Convex upper and concave lower surface.
Convex Upper and flat lower surface

Figure 1.9: Aerofoil profiles