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PHAK 3: Aircraft Construction Flashcards

1
Q

Categories of aircraft for certification of airmen include:

A
  • Airplane
  • Rotorcraft
  • Glider
  • Lighter-than-air
  • Powered-lift
  • Powered parachute
  • Weight-shift control aircraft
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2
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

The FAA certifies three types of aviation products:

A
  1. Aircraft
  2. Aircraft engines
  3. Propellers
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3
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

What does CFR stand for?

A

Code of Federal Regulations

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4
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

What does TC stand for?

A

Type Certificate

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5
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

When does the FAA issue a TC?

A
  • When they are satisfied the product complies with the applicable airworthiness standards.
  • When the TC is issued, a TCDS is generated
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6
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

What does TCDS stand for?

A

Type Certificate Data Sheet

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7
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

What is a TCDS for?

A
  • The TCDS defines the product.
  • The important design and operational characteristics of the aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller
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8
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

Are light sport aircraft designed according to FAA airworthiness standards?

Light Sport Aircraft

A
  • No.
  • TC is issued to the aircraft as a whole. It includes the airframe, engine, and propeller.
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9
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

When does the FAA issue an airworthiness certificate for light sport aircraft?

Light Sport Aircraft

A

When the aircraft is complete.
With the airframe, engine, and propeller.

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10
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

What does having an airworthiness certificate mean?

Light Sport Aircraft

A

The complete aircraft meets the design and manufacturing standards, and is in a condition for safe flight.

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11
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

How long does an airworthiness certificate remain valid?

Light Sport Aircraft

A

As long as the required maintenance and inspections are kept up to date for the aircraft.

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12
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

Where is the airworthiness certificate kept?

Light Sport Aircraft

A

Must be carried in the aircraft during all flight operations.

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13
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

Airworthiness certificates are classified as either…

Light Sport Aircraft

A

“Standard” or “Special”

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14
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

What color are Standard airworthiness certificates.

A
  • White
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15
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

Describe Standard airworthiness certificates.

A
  • Issued for normal, utility, acrobatic, commuter, or transport category aircraft.
  • Also issued for manned free balloons and aircraft designated as “Special Class.”
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16
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

What color are Special airworthiness certificates.

A
  • Pink
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17
Q

Aircraft Design, Certification, and Airworthiness

Describe Special airworthiness certificates.

A
  • Issued for:
  • primary
  • restricted
  • limited category aircraft
  • light sport aircraft.
  • Also issued as provisional airworthiness certificates, special flight permits (ferry permits), and for experimental aircraft.
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18
Q

Lift and Basic Aerodynamics

What four forces act upon an aircraft in relation to straight-and-level, unaccelerated flight.

A
  • Thrust
  • Lift
  • Weight
  • Drag
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19
Q

Lift and Basic Aerodynamics

What is thrust?

A
  • Forward force produced by the powerplant/propeller.
  • It opposes or overcomes the force of drag.
  • As a general rule, it is said to act parallel to the longitudinal axis. This is not always the case as explained later.
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20
Q

Lift and Basic Aerodynamics

What is drag?

A
  • Drag is a rearward, retarding force and is caused by disruption of airflow by the wing, fuselage, and other protruding objects.
  • Drag opposes thrust and acts rearward parallel to the relative wind.
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21
Q

Lift and Basic Aerodynamics

What is weight?

A
  • Combined load of the aircraft itself, the crew, the fuel, and the cargo or baggage.
  • Weight pulls the aircraft downward because of the force of gravity.
  • It opposes lift and acts vertically downward through the aircraft’s center of gravity (CG).
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22
Q

Lift and Basic Aerodynamics

What is lift?

A
  • Produced by the dynamic effect of the air acting on the wing
  • Acts perpendicular to the flight path through the wing’s center of lift (CL).
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23
Q

Lift and Basic Aerodynamics

An aircraft moves in ____ and is controlled by moving it about one or more of its ____.

A

three dimensions, axes

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24
Q

Lift and Basic Aerodynamics

The lateral axis

A
  • Pitch
  • Passes parallel to a line from wingtip to wingtip
  • Intersects the CG
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25
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics The longitudinal axis
* Roll * Extends through the aircraft from nose to tail * Passes through the CG
26
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics The vertical axis
* Yaw * Passes through the aircraft vertically * Intersects the CG
27
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics How do control movements relate to the airplane axes?
All control movements cause the aircraft to move around one or more of these axes and allows for the control of the aircraft in flight.
28
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics What does CG stand for?
Center of Gravity
29
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics What is aircraft CG?
The specific point where the mass or weight of an aircraft may be said to center; that is, a point around which, if the aircraft could be suspended or balanced, the aircraft would remain relatively level.
30
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics The position of the CG of an aircraft determines the...
stability of the aircraft in flight.
31
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics As the CG moves rearward...
the aircraft becomes more and more dynamically unstable.
32
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics If the CG is too far aft...
there might not be enough elevator nose-down force at the low stall airspeed to get the nose down for recovery.
33
# Lift and Basic Aerodynamics If the CG is too far forward...
there will not be enough elevator nose-up force to flare the airplane for landing.
34
# Major Components Most airplane structures include...
* A fuselage * Wings * An empennage * Landing gear * A powerplant
35
# Major Components Fuselage
* Central body of an airplane and is designed to accommodate the crew, passengers, and cargo. * It also provides the structural connection for the wings and tail assembly.
36
# Major Components What are the most popular fuselage types in today's aircraft?
* Monocoque (French for “single shell”) * Semimonocoque.
37
# Major Components Wings
The wings are airfoils attached to each side of the fuselage and are the main lifting surfaces that support the airplane in flight.
38
# Major Components Wings may be attached at...
* The top, middle, or lower portion of the fuselage. * High-, mid-, and low-wing, respectively.
39
# Major Components What are planes with a single set of wings called?
Monoplanes
40
# Major Components What are planes with two sets of wings called?
Biplanes
41
# Major Components What is a semi-cantilever wing?
* High-wing airplanes with external braces, or wing struts that transmit the flight and landing loads through the struts to the main fuselage structure. * The wing struts are usually attached approximately halfway.
42
# Major Components In most modern airplanes, the fuel tanks are...
either an integral part of the wing’s structure or consist of flexible containers mounted inside of the wing.
43
# Major Components What is 1?
Fuel tank
44
# Major Components What is 2?
Skin
45
# Major Components What is 3?
Ribs
46
# Major Components What is 4?
Stringers
47
# Major Components What is 5?
Wing tip
48
# Major Components What is 6?
Aileron
49
# Major Components What is 7?
Spar
50
# Major Components What is 8?
Wing flap
51
# Major Components
Basic section
52
# Major Components
Plain flap
53
# Major Components
Split flap
54
# Major Components
Slotted flap
55
# Major Components
Fowler flap
56
# Major Components
Slotted fowler flap
57
# Major Components Empennage
* The entire tail group * Fixed surfaces include the vertical stabilizer and the horizontal stabilizer. * Movable surfaces include the rudder, elevator, and one or more trim tabs.
58
# Major Components What is 1?
Horizontal stabilizer
59
# Major Components What is 2?
Vertical stabilizer
60
# Major Components What is 3?
Rudder
61
# Major Components What is 4?
Trim tabs
62
# Major Components What is 5?
Elevator
63
# Major Components Where is the rudder attached?
Back of the vertical stabilizer.
64
# Major Components What is the rudder used for?
Move the airplane's nose left and right on the vertical axis. Yaw.
65
# Major Components Where is the elevator attached?
Back of the horizontal stabilizer.
66
# Major Components What is the elevator used for?
Move the airplane's nose up and down.
67
# Major Components Where are trim tabs attached?
May be installed on: * the ailerons * the rudder * and/or the elevator
68
# Major Components What are trim tabs used for?
To reduce control pressures.
69
# Major Components What is a stabilator?
A single-piece horizontal tail surface on an airplane that pivots around a central hinge point. A stabilator serves the purposes of both the horizontal stabilizer and the elevators.
70
# Major Components What is 1?
Antiservo tab
71
# Major Components What is 2?
Stabilator pivot point
72
# Major Components Wheeled landing gear has how many wheels?
Three ## Footnote Two main wheels and a third wheel positioned either at the front or rear of the airplane.
73
# Major Components What is landing gear with a rear mounted wheel called?
Conventional landing gear
74
# Major Components What is is the principal support of the airplane when parked, taxiing, taking off, or landing.
The landing gear
75
# Major Components The most common type of landing gear consists of...
Wheels, but airplanes can also be equipped with floats for water operations or skis for landing on snow.
76
# Major Components Airplanes with conventional landing gear are sometimes referred to as...
Tailwheel airplanes
77
# Major Components What is it called when the third wheel of landing gear is located on the nose?
A nosewheel, and the design is referred to as a tricycle gear.
78
# Major Components How do you steer a nosewheel or tailwheel airplane on the ground?
* Most aircraft are steered by rudder pedals, nosewheel or tailwheel. * Additionally, some aircraft are steered by differential braking.
79
# Major Components What is the Powerplant?
Usually includes both the engine and the propeller.
80
# Major Components What is the primary function of the engine?
To provide power to the propeller.
81
# Major Components What are secondary functions of the engine?
* Generates electrical power. * Provides a vacuum source for some flight instruments. * In most single-engine airplanes, provides a source of heat for the occupants.
82
# Major Components What covers the engine?
* A cowling * Or a nacelle
83
# Major Components What is the purpose of the engine cover?
* Streamline the flow of air around the engine. * Help cool the engine by ducting air around the cylinders.
84
# Major Components What does the propeller translate rotating force to?
Thrust
85
# Major Components What is a propeller?
A rotating airfoil that produces thrust through aerodynamic action.
86
# Major Components Where do propellers form a high-pressure area?
At the back of the propeller’s airfoil.
87
# Major Components Where do propellers form a low-pressure area?
At the face of the propeller.
88
# Major Components What are two significant factors involved in the design of a propeller that impact its effectiveness.
* The angle of a propeller blade, as measured against the hub of the propeller, AOA. * The pitch.
89
# Major Components What are two significant factors involved in the design of a propeller that impact its effectiveness.
* Angle of Attack * The pitch
90
# Major Components What is the AOA of a propeller?
* Angle of Attack * The angle at which the relative wind meets the blade. * The AOA continuously changes during the flight depending upon the direction of the aircraft.
91
# Major Components What is the pitch of a propeller?
Defined as the distance a propeller would travel in one revolution if it were turning in a solid.
92
# Major Components Propellers are usually matched to a specific aircraft/powerplant combination to achieve the best...
Efficiency at a particular power setting.
93
# Subcomponents What do the subcomponents of an airplane include?
* The airframe * Electrical system * Flight controls * Brakes
94
# Subcomponents What is the airframe?
Basic structure of an aircraft and is designed to withstand all aerodynamic forces, as well as the stresses imposed by the weight of the fuel, crew, and payload.
95
# Subcomponents What is the primary function of the electrical system?
Generate, regulate, and distribute electrical power throughout the aircraft.
96
# Subcomponents What are the different electrical power sources on aircraft?
* Engine-driven alternating current (AC) generators * Auxiliary power units (APUs) * External power
97
# Subcomponents What are aircraft's electrical power systems used for?
* Operate flight instruments * Essential systems, such as anti-icing * Passenger services, such as cabin lighting
98
# Subcomponents What do the flight controls govern?
* The attitude of an aircraft * As a result, the flight path followed by the aircraft.
99
# Subcomponents What are the life of airplane brakes measured in?
Landings
100
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is a Truss Structure comprised of?
* Longerons * Vertical & horizontal struts * Stringers * Bulkheads * Formers
101
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is a longeron?
A longitudinal structural component of an aircraft's fuselage.
102
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is a stringer?
A longitudinal structural piece in a framework, especially that of a ship or aircraft.
103
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is a bulkhead?
A dividing wall or barrier between compartments in a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle.
104
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is a former?
A structural component used to shape and support the fuselage of an aircraft, providing its cross-sectional contour and rigidity.
105
# Types of Aircraft Construction How do longerons and stringers differ?
* Longerons often carry larger loads than stringers and also help to transfer skin loads to internal structure. * Longerons nearly always attach to frames or ribs. * Stringers often are not attached to anything but the skin, where they carry a portion of the fuselage bending moment through axial loading.
106
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is a Monocoque?
A structural design where the external skin bears most or all of the load, eliminating the need for an internal frame. ## Footnote Much like an aluminum beverage can.
107
# Types of Aircraft Construction In a monocoque design, what carries the twisting and bending forces?
The external skin.
108
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is 1?
Stressed skin
109
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is 2?
Formers
110
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is 3?
Bulkhead
111
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is 1?
Skin
112
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is 2?
Formers
113
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is 3?
Stringers
114
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is 4?
Bulkhead
115
# Types of Aircraft Construction What is the fireproof partition between the rear of the engine and the flight deck or cabin to protect the pilot and passengers from accidental engine fires?
Firewall
116
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are some composite materials used in aircraft?
* Fiberglass * Carbon fiber cloth * Kevlar cloth * Mixtures of all of the above
117
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are two advantages of composite construction?
* Extremely smooth skins. * Ability to easily form complex curved or streamlined structures.
118
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are composite materials in aircraft?
Fiber-reinforced matrix systems
119
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What is the matrix in a composite material?
The "glue" used to hold the fibers together and, when cured, gives the part its shape, but the fibers carry most of the load. ## Footnote There are many different types of fibers and matrix systems.
120
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What is the most common matrix in aircraft composites?
Epoxy resin ## Footnote A type of thermosetting plastic.
121
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are the most common reinforcing fibers used in aircraft composites?
* Fiberglass * Carbon fiber
122
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are 5 advantages of fiberglass?
1. Good tensile and compressive strength 2. Good impact resistance 3. Easy to work with 4. Relatively inexpensive 5. Readily available
123
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are disadvantages of fiberglass?
* Somewhat heavy. * It is difficult to make a fiberglass load-carrying structure lighter than a well designed equivalent aluminum structure.
124
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are advantages of carbon fiber?
* Generally stronger in tensile and compressive strength than fiberglass. * Much higher bending stiffness. * Considerbly lighter than fiberglass. * Considerbly lighter than aluminum structures. (sometimes 30%)
125
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are disadvantages of carbon fiber?
* Relatively poor impact resistance. * More expensive than fiberglass.
126
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are some advantages of composites?
* Lighter weight if properly designed. * Very smooth, compound curved, aerodynamic structure made from composites reduces drag. * Lack of corrosion. * Good performance in a flexing environment, such as in helicopter rotor blades.
127
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What are some disadvantages of composites?
* Lack of visual proof of damage. * The potential for heat damage to the resin. * Chemical paint strippers are very harmful to composites.
128
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites In a composite structure, a low energy impact, such as a bump or a tool drop...
may not leave any visible sign of the impact on the surface.
129
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites When is a repair mandatory on a composite material?
If an impact results in delaminations, crushing of the surface, or a puncture.
130
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites Impact energy affects the visibility, as well as the severity, of damage in composite structures. What are the differences between high, medium, and low energy impacts?
* High and medium energy impacts, while severe, are easy to detect. * Low energy impacts can easily cause hidden damage.
131
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites Many epoxies begin to weaken over...
150 °F
132
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites Why do composite aircraft often have specific recommendations on allowable paint colors?
So they don't overheat in the sun.
133
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites A quickly extinguished small brake fire can damage...
Bottom wing skins, composite landing gear legs, or wheel pants.
134
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What type of chemicals are very harmful to composites and must not be used on them?
Chemical paint strippers
135
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites How do composites react to fuel, oil, or hydraulic fluid?
These are generally not a problem with modern composites using epoxy resin.
136
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites How do aircraft mitigate the impact of lightning strikes?
The energy from the strike must be spread over a large surface area to lower the amps per square inch to a harmless level.
137
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites What is typically bonded to the skin surfaces of composite aircraft and why?
* Fine metal aluminum and copper mesh. * To mitigate the risk of lightning damage.
138
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites For composite aircraft with internal radio antennas, there must be ____ in the lightning strike mesh in the area of the antenna.
windows
139
# Types of Aircraft Construction: Composites Internal radio antennas may be found in fiberglass composites because fiberglass is...
transparent to radio frequencies, where carbon fiber is not.
140
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What does LCD stand for?
Liquid Crystal Display
141
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What does EFD stand for?
Electronic Flight Display
142
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What does PFD stand for?
Primary Flight Display
143
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future Where is the PFD positioned?
In front of the pilot.
144
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What does MFD stand for?
Multi Function Display
145
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future Where is the MFD positioned?
Approximately in the center of the instrument panel
146
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future Whether an aircraft has analog or digital (glass) instruments, the instrumentation falls into three different categories:
* Performance * Control * Navigation
147
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What do performance instruments do?
Indicate the aircraft’s actual performance.
148
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future How is performace determined?
By reference to the: altimeter airspeed vertical speed indicator (VSI) heading indicator turn-and-slip indicator
149
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What do control instruments do?
Display immediate attitude and power changes and are calibrated to permit adjustments in precise increments.
150
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What do navigation instruments do?
Indicate the position of the aircraft in relation to a selected navigation facility or fix.
151
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future Navigation instruments are comprised of indicators that display...
* GPS * VOR * NDB * ILS
152
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What is the highlighted instrument and what type is it?
Airspeed Indicator Performance instrument
153
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What is the highlighted instrument and what type is it?
Altimeter Indicator Performance instrument
154
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What is the highlighted instrument and what type is it?
Attitude Indicator Performance instrument
155
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What is the highlighted instrument and what type is it?
Heading Indicator Performance instrument
156
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What is the highlighted instrument and what type is it?
Tachometer Control instrument
157
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What is the highlighted instrument and what type is it?
Turn Coordinator Performance instrument
158
# Instrumentation: Moving into the Future What is the highlighted instrument and what type is it?
Vertical Speed Indicator Performance instrument

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