Aerodynamics Flashcards
Vector
a quantity that represents magnitude and direction. It is commonly used to represent displacement, velocity, acceleration, and force
Displacement
the distance and direction of a body’s movement
Velocity
speed and direction of a body’s motion (the rate of change of position)
Acceleration
rate of a body’s change of velocity
Force
How is calculated?
push or pull exerted on a body
Force is mass X acceleration
A vector is represented by a(n)?
arrow. The length of the arrow represents the magnitude and the heading of the arrow represents the direction.
Can vectors be added together?
Vectors may be added by placing the head of the first vector on the tail of the second and drawing a third vector from the tail of the first to the head of the second. This new vector is the resulting magnitude and direction of the original two vectors working together.
Mass (m)
quantity of molecular material that comprises an object.
Volume (v)
amount of space occupied by an object
Density (ρ)
mass per unit of volume (Mass divided by Volume)
Work (W)
How is calculated?
when a force acts upon a body and moves it
a scalar quantity equal to the Force (F) times the distance of displacement (s), or W = F × s
Power (P)
rate of doing work or work done per unit of time (t)
or P = W / time
Horsepower
a unit of measurement used to express the amount of power being produced. Horsepower is calculated by dividing the results of either power formula above by 550 (this is a unit conversion using the units of pounds, feet, and seconds)
Weight (W)
force with which a mass is attracted toward the center of Earth by gravity
Moment (M)
How is it calculated?
what is created when a force is applied at some distance from an axis or fulcrum, producing rotation about that point.
The distance from the axis or fulcrum to the point of force is called the Moment Arm
Moment = Force x Distance
Energy
What are the two forms?
a scalar measure of a body’s capacity to do work. There are two forms of energy: potential energy (P.E.) and kinetic energy (K.E.). Total energy (T.E.) is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy
Energy is required for work (W)
Potential Energy (P.E)
the ability of a body to do work because of its position or state of being. Potential energy is a function of mass, gravity, and height (MGH)
Kinetic Energy (K.E.)
the ability of a body to do work because of its motion. It is a function of mass and velocity
Energy cannot be created nor destroyed but may be ____ from one form (potential or kinetic) to the other. This principle is called ____ of energy.
For example, if a T-6A is in level, unaccelerated flight at a constant altitude and airspeed, both kinetic and potential energy are ____ .If you were to push the nose over you would lose altitude (____ energy) but “transform” that altitude loss into increased airspeed (____ energy) (Figure 1-10).
transformed
conservation
constant
potential
kinetic
What is Newton’s First Law called? What does it say?
The first law is the “Law of Equilibrium.”
“A body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion in a straight line at a constant velocity unless acted upon by some unbalanced force.”
Describes inertia
What is Newton’s Second Law? What does it say?
Newton’s second law is the “Law of Acceleration”:
“An unbalanced force acting upon a body produces an acceleration in the direction of the force that is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass of the body.”
When the thrust of an aircraft is greater than its drag, the excess thrust will cause the aircraft to accelerate until the increasing drag equals thrust.
What is Newton’s Third Law? What does it say?
Newton stated a third law, the “Law of Interaction.”
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
This law is demonstrated when the rearward force from an aircraft propeller’s prop wash causes an aircraft to thrust forward with an equal amount of force
What are the three characteristics of air?
Pressure, Temperature, and Density
Ambient static pressure
How does it change with altitude?
a measurement of the weight of an air column over a specific area.
As altitude increases, there are fewer particles in a given column of air, thus ambient static pressure is less because the column of air above you weighs less