1. Basic Principles Of Flight

Question 1

What is MASS?

Answer 1

Quantity of matter in a body
(not related to local gravity)

Question 2

What is WEIGHT?

Answer 2

The heaviness of matter
(related to local gravity)

Question 3

Which airspeeds do we use?

Answer 3

IAS - Indicated Airspeed
What’s displayed directly to the pilot.
TAS - True airspeed
The speed of the aircraft relative to the airmass.
M - Mach number
The velocity of the aircraft, relative to the local speed of sound.
GS - Groundspeed
The speed of the aircraft over the surface.

Question 4

What is Bernoulli’s Principle?

Answer 4

Bernoulli’s principle states that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in static pressure.
Conversely, a decrease in the speed of a fluid will occur simultaneously with an increase in static pressure.

Question 5

In steady, straight and level flight…?

Answer 5

LIFT balances WEIGHT
and
THRUST balances DRAG

Question 6

What are the 4 forces that act upon an Aircraft?

Answer 6

Lift - acts perpendicular (90’) to the Airflow
Weight - acts through the CoG
Thrust - force generated by the engine (Thrust line)
Drag - resistance through the air (Drag line)

Question 7

What happens in a turn?

Answer 7

WEIGHT always acts vertically down towards the Earth due to gravity.
LIFT always acts perpendicular to the aerofoil.
RESULTANT LIFT will be less than weight.
So, unless the pilot intervenes, the aircraft will descend.