Exam1 Flashcards
What is an aircraft
A device that us used, or intended to be used, for flight according to the current Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 1. General aviation aircraft are certified under 14 CFR part 23.
Light Sport Aircrafts
- Not designed to FAA standards, designed for low cost aircraft demands
- One motor, max 2 seats, fixed-pitch propellor, unpressurized cabin
Pitching
- Lateral Axis ( cat paws )
- Controlled by elevator
Rolling
- Longitudinal Axis (barrel roll)
- Controlled by ailerons
Yawing
- Vertical Axis (tea cup spin)
- Controlled by elevator (rudder)
Nose down force is a result of…
weight acting through the CG. Independent of airspeed.
Nose UP force is a result of …
the elevator and its dependance on airspeed
If the CG is to far forward …
then the nose-up force produced by the tail is to small and its difficult to raise the nose to flare during landing
Fuselage
center body. Holds crew/passengers/cargo
Wings
Attached to fuselage and main lifting surfaces
Empennage
Tail of aircraft which is attached to fuselage. Incorporates vertical and horizontal stabilizers and control surfaces.
Powerplant
whether a prop or a jet, always just an airprop
Landing gear
supports plane on the ground
Struts
Minimize structural requirements of high wing aircraft
What are wings made of?
Ribs (vertical) and stringers (horizontal)
What do wings support?
Ailerons and flap control surfaces
What material are wings made of?
- Smooth thin stressed metal or fabric skin.
- Airflows over the skin of the wing to produce lift
What other things can the wings accomodate?
Fuel tanks and retracted landing gear.
Empennage
Includes fixed and moveable horizontal and vertical control surfaces
Empennage vertical control surfaces
vertical stabilizer (top fin) and moveable rudder (top fin’s flap)
Empennage horizontal control surfaces
horizontal stabilizer and moveable elevator
Trim Tabs
A moveable elevator control surface.
Allows pilot to achieve zero stick force ( hands off ) level flight
What is alternate design for a horizontal stabilizer ?
Stabilator
Landing gear
- Tricycle is the most popular
- Trail draggers (like snow skis) > floats > retractable landing gear (allows plane to fly faster, but you have to remember to put them down)
Powerplant parts (4)
Includes engine, engine frame, propeller, and aerodynamic cowl
Where are jet engines
Often under wing or over wing pods
Powerplant definition
Air pumps. Creates a reward stream of air to push the plane forward. Newtons 3rd law.
Types of aircraft construction
- Truss, efficient but lack a stream lined shape. Good for bridges.
- Monocoque, use formers (hollow discs on the inside) , bulkheads (disc attached to the fuselage), and a stressed skin.
- Semimonocoque use formers, bulkheads, stringers and stressed skins.
Performance Instruments
- airspeed indicator
- altitude indicator
- altimeter indicator
- turn coordinator
- heading indicator
- vertical speed indicator
Control Instruments
- manifold pressure gauge
- altitude indicator
- tachometer
Navigation Instruments
- allows the AC to navigate point-to-point over the earth
- Glide slope data allows plane to land/takeoff in reduced visibility (in addition to a horizontal plane)
Air is a …. and the properties are …
FLUID!
Viscosity/Friction/Density/Pressure
What chemical elements make up the atmosphere
Nitrogen/oxygen/other gases
Atmospheric pressure, sea level
14.7 psi.
1 Hg per 1000 ft.
Pressure Altitude
altitude where the wieght of the atm. is 29.92 Hg
Find PA by setting altimeter to 29.92.
Window at 3’oclock position on the altimeter is called the kolsman window
Density Altitude
- Pressure altitude corrected for non-standard temp
- used to calculate aircraft performance
- higher density of air (lower density altitude) increases aircraft performance
How does an increase in pressure affect density altitude?
Lower DA
How does a decrease in temperature affect density altitude?
Lower DA
How does a increase in humidity affect density altitude?
Higher DA
Newtons Laws
1: A body at rest remains at rest
2: If a force hits a body the resulting acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass of the body and directly proportional to the applied force.
3. Equal and opp reaction
Bernoulli’s Principal
As flow speeds up, pressure goes down.
Airfoils have curved upper surface so the distance over the top is longer than the distance under the bottom
Continuity!
What is continuity
when the stream lines of a flow split over the shape , the must rejoin at the end of the shape.
Since the distance over the top is longer, the top stream must travel faster (lower pressure)
Wing Lift
pressure difference between top and bottom of wing
Airfoil Term: Leading Edge
rounded edge the divides the stream lines above and below the airfoil
Airfoil Term: Trailing Edge
Pointed shape where the stream lines rejoin after passing over and under the wing
Airfoil Term: Chord Line
straight line from the leading edge to the trailing edge. Chord is the width of the wing.
Airfoil Term: Mean Camber Line
curved line from the leading edge to trailing edge that is halfway between edges
Airfoil designs
check screen shot
Which airfoil has an abrupt stall and used for high performances AC
Laminar flow airfoil
AOA in accordance with the airfoil
angle between the chord and the free stream airflow in the front of the wing. Lift produced by the wing increases with AOA
Pressure Distribution and Behavior
Small neg AOA: balances pressure above and below wing, results in 0 lift
Small pos AOA: pressure on bottom higher than top and produces lift
How to get critical AOA
Increasing AOA increases lift until critical AOA is reached