AERODYNAMIC PRINCIPLES.

Section A-Four Forces of flight

The Four Forces
Lift
Newton’s Laws and Force of Motion
Bernoulli’s Principle
Bernoulli's principle states that as a gas or fluid moves over a curved
surface, its velocity increases and its pressure decreases.
Airfoils
Angle of Attack
Pilot Control of Lift

The amount of lift generated by an aircraft is controlled by the pilot as well

as determined by the aircraft design.
Changing Angle of Attack.
The pilot has direct control over the angle of attack. Anytime the pilot
changes the pitch of the airplane during flight, the angle of attack changes.
At the same time, the coefficient of lift changes.
Changing airspeed.
Lift is proportional to the square of the airplane’s speed. The airspeed
required to sustain an aircraft in flight depends on the flap position, the
angle of attack, and the gross weight.
Angle of Attack and airspeed.
Angle of attack establishes the coefficient of lift of the airfoil. Since you
can control both angle of attack and airspeed, you can control lift.
Weight
Thrust
Drag
Types of Drag

Induced Drag: Increase Drag as

airspeed decreases.

Parasite Drag: increase as

airspeed increases.

1. Form Drag
2. Interference Drag
3. Skin Friction Drag
Ground Effect

The phenomenon of a wing in ground effect is caused

by the ground blocking the formation of wingtip
vortices and downwash behind the wing. When a
wing is flown very close to the ground, wingtip
vortices are unable to form effectively due to the
obstruction of the ground. The result is lower induced
drag, which increases the speed and lift of the
aircraft while it is experiencing the ground effect.
AERODYNAMIC PRINCIPLES.

Section B-Stability
Positive, Neutral and Negative Stability
Three Axes of flight
Longitudinal Stability
Center of Gravity Position

The position of the center of

gravity (CG) which is
determined by the
distribution of weight either
by design or by the pilot,
can also affect the
longitudinal stability of an
airplane.
 CG Out of Limits
When the center of gravity or weight of an
aircraft is outside the acceptable range, the
aircraft may not be able to sustain flight, or it
may be impossible to maintain the aircraft in
level flight in some or all circumstances.
Placing the CG or weight of an aircraft
outside the allowed range can limit
controllability and could lead to an accident.
CG AFT.

When the fore-aft center of gravity is

out of range, the aircraft may pitch
uncontrollably down or up, and this
tendency may exceed the control
authority available to the pilot,
causing a loss of control.
 CG Forward

Excessive weight and a forward CG

could make it impossible to take off
within available runway lengths, or
may completely prevent take-off. This
condition could require more elevator
control than is available, which can
become a problem when attempting to
flare for landing.
Lateral Stability
Dihedral
Dihedral is important for lateral stability. As one wing drops, its lift vector
increases while that of the opposite wing decreases, tending to stabilize the
airplane.

Dihedral describes wings that are angled upward from the fuselage.
 Directional Stability

Stability about the vertical axis is called

Directional Stability
Stalls

In aerodynamics, a stall is a sudden reduction in the lift forces

generated by an airfoil. This occurs when the critical angle of
attack of the airfoil is exceeded, typically about 14 to 16
degrees.
Types of Stalls:
Power off stall (Approach stall)
Power on stall (Take off stall)
Turning stall
Accelerated stall
PTS Stall Recovery
Spins

In aviation, a spin is an aggravated stall resulting in rotation about the

center of gravity wherein the aircraft follows a downward corkscrew
path. Spins can be entered unintentionally or intentionally, from any
flight attitude and from practically any airspeed. (Explain recovery)
AERODYNAMIC PRINCIPLES.

Section C-Aerodynamic of Maneuvering Flight

Climbing Flight
Left-Turning Tendencies
 Descending Flight

oIn a stabilized powered descent flight,

aerodynamic forces are in equilibrium.

oIn a stabilized descent with power to

idle, three aerodynamic forces are in
equilibrium with the forward component
of weight equal to and opposite drag.
 Lift to Drag Ratio
The lift-to-drag ratio, or L/D ratio, is the amount of lift generated by a wing or vehicle, divided by the drag it creates
by moving through the air. A higher or more favorable L/D ratio is typically one of the major goals in aircraft design;
since the lift required by an aircraft depends upon its weight. Delivering that lift with lower drag leads directly to
better fuel economy, climb performance, and glide ratio.
Turning Flight

The horizontal component of lift causes an airplane to turn.

Adverse Yaw
When a plane enters a turn, one aileron moves up and the other
down. Since induced drag is a by-product of lift, the outside
wing will produce more drag than the inside wing. This causes a
yawing tendency towards the outside of the turn, which is called
Adverse Yaw.
 Load Factor

Load Factor is the ratio of the load supported by the airplane’s wings to
the actual weight of the aircraft and its contents.