Intro to Aviation

By Ahmad Ahsan

Revision of the Basics Four Forces

There are four primary forces that act on an airplane in flight: thrust, weight, drag and lift. It is the interplay between these four forces that result in an airplane's motion.

Revision of in balance the Basics The four forces

The four forces work in opposing pairs or couples. lift versus weight, and thrust versus drag. When forces are in balance, that is their magnitudes are the same and their directions are opposite, the speed and direction of the object will not change. E.g. Aircraft in steady and level flight. The wings are creating enough lift to counteract the weight of the aircraft and keep it at a certain altitude. The engines are creating enough thrust to counteract the drag of the aircraft and keep it at its cruising speed. If the lift force is increased or the weight of the aircraft is decreased, there will be an imbalance between the lift force and the weight force and the airplane will ascend. Conversely if the lift force is decreased the lift force and the weight force will not be balanced and the airplane will descend. Lift = pressure x area

Revision of the Basics Airfoil

The Ancient Chinese discovered that kites with curved surfaces flew better than kites with flat surfaces. Lilienthal and Cayley, in the 1800s, demonstrated that a curved surface produces more lift than a flat surface. By virtue of its shape alone, an airfoil will generate lift as air flows over it.

Revision of the Basics

Airfoil Even more lift can be generated by the airfoil if it is tilted with respect to the airflow. This tilt is called an airfoil's angle of attack. As the wing is tilted, the air flowing over the top of the wing flows even faster than the air flowing underneath. As the difference in the speed of the two airflows increases, the difference in pressure increases also. This difference in pressure that generates the lift force. So, as its angle of attack increases, the wing generates more lift (up to a certain point) At this point, lift diminishes rapidly. This is called the critical angle of attack.

Four Tools of Aeronautics Wind Tunnels

A wind tunnel is basically a long tube or tunnel through which air is blown at controlled speeds. A scale model of an airplane, or part of an airplane is mounted in the tunnel and measurements are taken of the forces and pressures that the model experiences when the air is blown. Computational Fluid Dynamics Research using computed values, mathematical equations and models to calculate the forces and pressures in support of testing and research are carried out in CFD. Flight Simulation Includes the pilot, usually involves mathematical modelling and programming of an aircraft into a computer system. Performance parameters and anticipated control responses are then tested to accurately simulate the research.

Airline Operations: Types of Airlines

Major airlines - A major airline is defined as an airline that generates more than $1-billion in revenue annually. National airlines - Just one step down from the major airlines, these are scheduled airlines with annual operating revenues between $100-million and $1-billion. These airlines might serve certain regions of the country, but may also provide longdistance routes and some international destinations. Regional airlines - As the name suggests, these airlines service particular regions of a country. Usuaully they operate to/from satellite airports as opposed to international airports, and in most case operate turboprop or propeller airplanes.

 Most air carriers operate under a system of prioritized goals: safety customer service on-time departures and arrivals operating economics

Airline Operations

Airline Operations
The major components for any given flight include: The aircraft and support equipment, Cockpit and cabin crew Maintenance personnel Ground service personnel.

The flight operations department is responsible for the safe and efficient movement of passengers and/or cargo which ultimately generate the revenue for the airline.

MAS Organizational Structure

Anatomy of An Airline

An airline's most important assets are its airplanes and its people. An airline can have the best planes in the world, but without the employees, an airline can't do anything. Operational or Line personnel - These include everyone directly involved in producing or selling an airline's services: Technicians and Mechanics, responsible for maintenance checks. Pilots, who fly the planes Cabin crew who serve passengers and perform various inflight safety functions; Reservation staff, airport check-in and gate personnel, who book and process the passengers;

 Ground handling agents, flight dispatchers and planning agents, whose job is to release flights for takeoff, following a review of all factors affecting a flight. These include the weather, routes the flight may follow, fuel requirements and both the amount and distribution of weight onboard the aircraft. etc. Line personnel generally fall into three broad categories: engineering and maintenance, flight operations, and sales and marketing. These three divisions form the heart of an airline and generally account for 85 percent of an airline's employees.

Operational or Line Personnel

Anatomy of An Airline

Operational Management, Planning, and Training - This department is responsible for operating an airline's fleet of aircraft safely and efficiently. It schedules the aircraft and flight crews and it develops and administers all policies and procedures necessary to maintain safety and meet CAA operating requirements. It is in charge of all flight-crew training, both initial and recurrent training for pilots and flight attendants, and it establishes the procedures crews are to follow before, during and after each flight to ensure safety.

Anatomy of An Airline: Maintenance

Maintenance Maintenance makes up 11 percent of an airline's employees. Maintenance programs keep aircraft in safe, working order; ensure passenger comfort; preserve the airline's valuable physical assets (its aircraft); and ensure maximum utilization of those assets, by keeping planes in excellent condition. An airplane costs its owner money every minute of every day, but makes money only when it is flying with freight and/or passengers aboard.

Anatomy of An Airline: Maintenance

Airlines typically have one facility for major maintenance work and aircraft modifications, called the base maintenance hangar. Larger airlines sometimes have more than one maintenance base and perform all checks. Smaller maintenance facilities are maintained at an airline's hubs or primary airports, where aircraft are likely to be parked overnight. These are called major maintenance stations and perform routine maintenance and checks. A third level of inspection and repair capability is maintained at airports, where a carrier has extensive operations, although less than at its hubs. These are called maintenance stations and perform temporary repairs or small parts replacement.

Anatomy of An Airline: Sales

This division performs pricing, advertising, ticket and cargo sales, reservations and customer service. As compared to earlier, today advanced simulation models, airline operations software, and reservation systems allow for variable fares, price changes, and maximum profits. Travel agents sell approximately 80 percent of all airline tickets, use the same systems to book reservations and print tickets for travelers.

Assignments and Projects

Groups of 3 -4 Meet in lab after class

The End