Air Basics and

Performance

02 Sep 15
II Lecture

Basic Aircraft Terminology

Aerofoil: Cross sectional shape of a
wing
Leading Edge (LE): Front edge of the
wing
Trailing Edge (TE) : Back edge of the
wing
Chord Line: Line connecting LE and
TE
Camber : Centre line between top
and bottom of wing

Aerofoil

Axes of an Aircraft
Longitudinal: Parallel to the
Fuselage
Lateral : Parallel to the Wing
Normal : Perpendicular to the
ground

Axes of an Aircraft
Longitudinal: Parallel to the
Fuselage
Lateral : Parallel to the Wing
Normal : Perpendicular to the
ground

Six degrees of
freedom

Wing Layout
Sweep: Angle between the lateral axis
and the wing
Taper: Chord decreases as you move
towards the wing tip
Incidence: Angle between the
longitudinal axis and the wing chord
Angle of Attack: Angle between the wing
and the relative wind
Twist : Bending of wings about lateral
axis
Anhedral (downward)
Dihedral (upward)

Wing Geometry Definitions

Angle of Attack

Wing Layout
Aspect Ratio (AR) = Span ^2/wing
area
More efficient of slow moving aircraft
Typical values
Glider : 20-30
Trainer: 7 -9
Loadstar: 18.5

Control Surfaces
Ailerons: Horizontal surfaces located on
wing tips
Roll: rotation about the longitudinal axis

Elevator : Horizontal surfaces located

on the tail
Pitch: rotation about the lateral axis

Rudder: Vertical surface located on the

tail
Yaw: rotation about the normal axis

Stabilising Surfaces
Vertical Stabiliser : The vertical part
of the tail which prevents unwanted
yaw
Horizontal Stabiliser: The horizontal
portion of the tail that prevents
unwanted pitch

Flaps
Changes the shape of Wing
Increases Lift and Drag
Used during takeoff and landing

Flaps
Changes the shape of Wing
Increases Lift and Drag
Used during takeoff and landing

Forces of Flight

Lift
Drag
Thrust
Weight
For steady and level flight these four
forces and the moments they
generate must be in equilibrium. An
airplane is a force and moment
balancing machine

Forces of Flight

Force of Flight

Lift
Controlled by
Airspeed, angle of attack, altering
aerofoil and altering the planform area
Lift= *p * V^2*A*Cl
p- density V- Velocity A- wing area Cl
coeff of lift

Co-efficient of Lift
Magic no of lift;
determined
experimentally
Constant for any
size wing with
same aerofoil
Accounts for
unkown
Varies with AoA
There is an angle
where the wing
produces zero lift
Explains how
airplane can fly

Loss of Lift
Every wing has a stall angle
Stall angle is angle of attack at which
wing losses lift
Stall angle ranges from 12-20
degrees

Drag

Form Drag- shape of the object

Skin Friction Drag- surface of object
Induced Drag- Component of Lift
Parasitic Drag= Form Drag+ Skin Drag
Total Drag= Parasitic Drag+ Induced
Drag
Total Drag= *p*V^2*A*Cd
Cd Co-eff of Drag. Determined
experimentally

Drag Curve