Aircraft Structural Assembly and Rigging

Question 1

What is the function of a Vortex Generator?

Answer 1

Designed to delay or prevent the separation of the boundary layer.

Question 2

What are the 3 axes of an airplane?

Answer 2

Longitudinal, Lateral, and Vertical

Question 3

What are the three primary flight controls of an aircraft?

Answer 3

Elevator, Aileron and Rudder

Question 4

What are the secondary flight controls? Describe their general purpose.

Answer 4

Various high lift devices used during low speed flight. Leading and trailing edge flaps, slats, slots, and speed brakes.

Question 5

Name several types of Auxiliary Flight controls and describe their purpose.

Answer 5

Various types of trim tabs, such as balance tabs, anti servo tabs, and servo tabs. Their function is to assist the pilot in moving the flight controls and to trim the aircraft to fly hands off.

Question 6

What is a servo trim tab?

Answer 6

An auxiliary control positioned by the movement of a cockpit control, designed to create aerodynamic forces to assist the pilot in moving the control surface.

Question 7

What is a spring tab?

Answer 7

It is an auxiliary control designed to aid in movement of a primary control at high speeds when control forces become too high.

Question 8

What is a balance tab?

Answer 8

It is an auxiliary control designed to create aerodynamic forces to assist in moving a control surface. The tab is positioned by a control rod connected to the fixed surface on the same side as the horn on the tab.

Question 9

What are the four most common high lift devices?

Answer 9

Leading and trailing edge flaps, slats, and slots.

Question 10

Describe some of the tools used to check control surface travel.

Answer 10

A universal propeller protractor or special control surface protractor.

Question 11

Name three mechanical methods by which flight control systems may be actuated.

Answer 11

Cables, push-pull rods, and torque tubes.

Question 12

What are the most likely places for a control cable to wear or break?

Answer 12

Where the cables pass over pulleys or through fairleads.

Question 13

What is a fairlead?

Answer 13

A device to prevent a cable from rubbing on the aircraft structure.

Question 14

What information is required before a cable rigging chat can be used?

Answer 14

The ambient temperature and the cable size.

Question 15

What is the function of a cable tension regulator?

Answer 15

To automatically adjusts the cable tension to compensate for expansion and contraction of the aircraft structure.

Question 16

Describe the function of a rotorcraft collective pitch control.

Answer 16

The collective control causes each rotor blade to change its pitch angle by the same amount, thus increase or decreasing the lift produces by the rotor.

Question 17

Describe the function of a rotorcraft cyclic pitch control.

Answer 17

Tilts the main rotor disc by changing the pitch angles of each rotor blade during its cycle of rotation, which causes the helicopter to move in the direction the rotor tilts.

Question 18

What mechanism is most commonly used to compensate for the torque produced by the main rotor of a helicopter?

Answer 18

The tail / anti-torque rotor

Question 19

How is the amount of thrust produced by the tail rotor controlled?

Answer 19

By actuating the foot pedals.

Question 20

Why should control surface be locked when an aircraft is parked?

Answer 20

To prevent damage from the wind.