11.1 THEORY OF FLIGHT👌🏼 Flashcards
Aircraft rotates about 3 primary axes ?
- Lateral axis (pitch) (elevators etc)
- Longitudinal axis (roll) (Ailerons and spoilers)
- Vertical axis (yaw) (rudder)
Aircraft primary controls are ?
- ailerons
- elevators
- rudder
What are stabilators?
- dual purpose of horizontal stabiliser and elevators
- commonly found on high speed military combat aircraft
What are variable incidence stabilisers / THS ?
- limited ROM, used only for pitch trimming
- reduce drag
- long term adjustments
What are canards?
- where the horizontal stabiliser is positioned at the front of aircraft (ahead of main wings)
If a rudder is deflected left, where does the nose point?
- left
What are rudder limiters?
- restricts rudder deflection with increasing airspeed
What happens if you excessively use rudder during high speeds?
- lead to structural failure
What are elevons?
- combination of elevators and ailerons
- found on delta wing aircraft
- no horizontal stabiliser
- control surfaces for pitch and roll are located at trailing edge of the wing
What are Ruddervators?
- combination of a rudder and a elevator
- e.g. found on v tailed aircraft (do not have vertical or horizontal stabiliser)
Explain slots?
- located on leading edge
- allows high pressure air beneath wing to accelerate to the top of the wing and re-energises the boundary layer
- prevents separation, stagnation, and stall at higher AOA
- allows aircraft to fly at lower speeds at high AOA
- frequently situated in front of ailerons so inboard part of wing stalls first and aileron functions are maintained
- they produce a lot of drag
Explain slats?
- located on leading edge and same function as slot but adjustable
- increase camber, increase lift
- allows high pressure air to accelerate over wing to re-energise boundary layer
- can be selected as part of a configuration or manually
Explain flaps?
- Secondary flight controls are used to increase lift during slow speeds (take off and landing)
- produce significant drag (useful when landing)
- nose pitch down when flaps are out
What is a plain flap?
- 50% - 55% lift increase
- Cause a lot of drag
What is a split flap?
- 60% - 65% lift increase
- causes more drag than a plain flap
What is a slotted flap?
- slots near trailing edge when extended
- not as much drag as plain and split
- increases lift by 65% - 70%
- large aircraft often have double or even triple slotted flaps
What is a fowler flap?
- increases chord of wing then camber
- nose down pitch movement
- Increases lift the most (up to 95%)
Which flap has lift up to 95%
- Fowler flap
What is a slotted fowler flap?
- increase area of wing then camber
- increasing lift and giving lowest drag possible
What do heavy aircraft have in addition to trailing edge flaps?
- leading edge flaps
When leading edge flaps is retracted, where is it stored?
- leading edge of wing
Explain leading edge droop?
- device that improves airflow over the wings at high AOA
- entire leading edge rotates downstairs
- increases camber and lift
Explain Krueger flaps?
- lift enhancement devices on leading edge
- when deployed, produces nose up pitch
What are flaperons?
- dual purpose (ailerons that can function as a flap)
- during take off and landing they behave like flaps (it can still be used as a aileron)