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Principles of Flight
Thrust and Drag
An Aircraft In Flight
Besides lift and weight, there are two other forces that act on an aircraft in flight These are thrust and drag
Thrust
The airflow over the wings that is needed to generate lift is caused by thrusting the aircraft forwards through the air. Thrust is therefore the forward force acting on an aircraft It is produced by the engines by throwing air backwards Either a propeller can do this, or air can be expelled from the rear (in the case of a jet engine)
Thrust
In both cases, throwing air backwards thrusts the aircraft forces This is because every action has an equal and opposite reaction The size of the thrust depends on the amount of engine power selected by the pilot
Drag
When youre on a bicycle, the faster you go the more resistance you encounter The force which hinders your progress is called drag The same can be said for aircraft. Every part of the aircraft over which air flows produces drag which resists forward motion Thus the more drag there is, the more thrust is needed to over come it
Drag
However to get more thrust you need a bigger engine, more fuel and more weight, and therefore more expense The aircrafts designer wants to make the aircraft fly at the best possible speed for the available thrust Therefore he will try and reduce drag This makes the aircraft more efficient and economical
Causes of Drag
The shape of the aircraft causes a great deal of drag When any object moves through the air it is accompanied by a wake of complicated eddies and vortices In flight, engine power which should be used for forward power is wasted in making these vortices
Drag
Here is an extreme example: a flat plate in an airflow The drag is greatest at 90 to the airflow The drag is least when it is parallel to the airflow
Minimising Drag
Drag can be minimised by:
This means smoothing all the parts of the aircraft which are in the airflow, thus making the air flow as smoothly as possible.
Minimising Drag
How much drag would this object produce? A flat circular plate
Minimising Drag
How much drag would this object produce? A ball of the same diameter as the plate
Minimising Drag
How much drag would this object produce? A streamlined shape (same diameter)
Minimising Drag
An effective way to streamline shapes is to have a fineness ratio (length compared to breadth) of 4(or 3):1 width one unit length four units
drag
When thrust = drag, the aircraft travels a constant speed. When thrust is greater than drag, the aircraft accelerates. When drag is greater than thrust, the aircraft slows down.
thrust
drag
weight When thrust=drag and lift=weight, the aircraft flies straight and level at a constant speed. The aircraft is in balance.
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