CLASS C STUDY BOOK

C - Licence Information &

Documentation

Basic Aircraft
Knowledge
 Flight

The four forces of flight are lift, drag, thrust, and weight.

Lift is the upward force created by the wings moving through the air that sustains the
airplane in flight. Lift operates to overcome weight. It must be equal to or greater than the
weight of the object in flight and acting in the opposite direction. Lift can be increased by
increasing the forward speed of the aircraft or by increasing the angle of attack

Drag is the resistance of the airplane to forward motion. It is directly opposed to thrust and is
caused by the resistance of air.

Thrust is the force exerted by the engine and its propeller(s). It pushes the air backward with
the object of causing movement of the airplane in the forward direction.

Weight is the downward force due to the weight of the airplane and its load. It is directly
opposed to lift
Flight Controls
an aircraft is free to rotate around three axes which are perpendicular to each other and
intersect at the plane's centre of gravity (CG). To control position and direction a pilot must
be able to control rotation about each of them.

YAW (Controlled by Rudder)

Vertical axis
The vertical axis passes through the plane from top to bottom. Rotation about this axis is
called yaw. Yaw changes the direction the aircraft's nose is pointing, left or right. The
primary control of yaw is with the rudder.
PITCH (Controlled by Elevators)

Lateral axis
the lateral axis passes through the plane from wingtip to wingtip. Rotation about this axis is
called pitch. Pitch changes the vertical direction the aircraft's nose is pointing. The elevators
are the primary control of pitch.
ROLL (Controlled by Ailerons)

Longitudinal axis
the longitudinal axis passes through the plane from nose to tail. Rotation about this axis is
called bank or roll. The ailerons are the primary control of bank.

Primary Flight controls

Secondary Flight controls
In addition to the primary flight controls for roll, pitch, and yaw; there are often secondary
controls available to give the pilot finer control over flight or to ease the workload.
The most commonly-available control is a wheel or other device to control elevator trim, so
that the pilot does not have to maintain constant backward or forward pressure to hold a
specific pitch attitude. Many aircraft have wing flaps, controlled by a switch or a mechanical
lever or in some cases are fully automatic by computer control, which alter the shape of the
wing for improved control at the slower speeds used for takeoff and landing. Other
secondary flight control systems may be available, including slats, spoilers and air brakes.

Flaps

Flaps are hinged surfaces on the trailing edge of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft. As flaps
are extended, the stalling speed of the aircraft is reduced, which means that the aircraft can
fly safely at slower speeds (especially during takeoff and landing). Flaps are also used on
the leading edge of the wings of some high-speed jet aircraft, where they may be called
Slats.
Trim
Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on
aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract aero-dynamic forces and
stabilise the aircraft in a particular desired attitude without the need for the operator to
constantly apply a control force. This is done by adjusting the angle of the tab relative to the
larger surface.

Engine & Prop Control

Prop Pitch: With prop pitch you can change the angle of attack of the propeller blades.
100% prop pitch means a small angle of attack and a high rpm. A lower % increases the
angle of attack and slows the engine's RPM.
Decreasing prop pitch can be used to cool the engine, to decrease fuel usage or to decrease
engine wear.
Some aircraft have an automated system to change prop pitch this can be disengaged but
take care because some engines will over - rev and self destruct if run at 100% pitch.
Mixture: Mixture is nothing less than the mixture or ratio of fuel vs. air which enters the
engine. At low altitude air is rich in oxygen and running at a rich mixture (High fuel) gives
maximum power. But at higher altitudes the oxygen levels are lower and the amount of fuel
has to be reduced, If you do not reduce the mixture part of the fuel will not be combusted
and it will start "Leaking" From your exhaust, worse still the engine will be drowning power
will greatly reduce and in the worst event it might even cut out.
Supercharger: A supercharger is a device that compresses air; at high altitudes where air
pressure is lower the engine will produce less power. But when you engage the
supercharger the air pressure fed into the engine is back to that at sea level or even higher
giving the engine an enormous boost in performance.
Every engine has a set altitude to change supercharger, some aircraft have an automated
system for the supercharger like the P51 Mustang and the Supermarine spitfire.
Instrumentation
Instruments give the pilot information about the flight situation of the aircraft such as speed
altitude and attitude. The flight instruments are particularly important when flying with low or
no visibility when no information can be gathered by looking out of the cockpit.

Basic 6

Airspeed Indicator

The airspeed indicator shows the aircraft's speed (usually in knots) relative to the
surrounding air.

Altimeter

The altimeter shows the aircraft's height (usually in feet or meters) above some
reference level (usually sea-level) by measuring the local air pressure.
Attitude Indicator

The attitude indicator (also known as an artificial horizon) shows the aircraft's
attitude relative to the horizon. From this the pilot can tell whether the wings are level and if
the aircraft nose is pointing above or below the horizon. This is a primary instrument for
instrument flight and is also useful in conditions of poor visibility.

Magnetic Compass

The compass shows the aircraft's heading relative to magnetic north. While
reliable in steady level flight it can give confusing indications when turning, climbing,
descending, or accelerating due to the inclination of the earth's magnetic field.

Vertical Speed Indicator

The VSIr (also sometimes called a variometer). Senses changing air pressure,
and display that information to the pilot as a rate of climb or descent in feet per minute,
meters per second or knots.

Turn indicator

The turn indicator is not very usual but the "Ball" Below the turn & Bank indicator is
very important to make coordinated turns, it measures lateral G forces usually caused by
use of the rudder.
Radio Communication
Make your messages short but complete, articulate clearly, mention your own call sign so
the ATC knows who he is talking to. And repeat important messages back to the ATC so he
knows you have received the full message.
The radio is not a chatbox, DO NOT share unimportant information over the radio whilst
flying.

NATO AVIATION ALPHABET and PRONUNCIATION

A _______________ Alpha – AL-FA
B _______________ Bravo – BRA-VO
C _______________ Charlie – CHAR-LEE
D _______________ Delta – DEL-TA
E _______________ Echo – EH-CO
F _______________ Foxtrot – FOX-TROT
G _______________ Golf - GOLF
H _______________ Hotel – HO - TEL
I ________________ India – IN-DEE-AH
J ________________ Juliet – JEW-LEE-ET
K ________________ Kilo – KEY-LO
L ________________ Lima – LEE-MA
M ________________ Mike - MIKE
N ________________ November – NO-VEM-BER
O ________________ Oscar – OS-CAR
P ________________ Papa - PAPA
Q ________________ Quebec – KWEH-BEK
R ________________ Romeo – ROW-ME-OH
S ________________ Sierra – SEE-AIR-AH
T ________________ Tango – TAN-GO
U ________________ Uniform – U-NEE-FORM
V ________________ Victor – VIC-TOR
W ________________ Whiskey – WIS-KEY
X ________________ X-Ray – X-RAY
Y ________________ Yankee – YAN-KEE
Z ________________ Zulu – ZOO-LOO
Phrases to know
Requests
Requesting permission to; Taxi to active runway/Enter active runway/Full stop landing/
Touch and Go/Fly by/Land/Taxi to parking.

Announcements
Turning Base/Final
Holding short
Taxi into position and hold
Entering/Leaving Active runway
Rolling
Runway vacated
Going around

Take off & landing

Traffic Pattern
Before you take off or land you have to be familiar with the traffic pattern. A traffic patterns is
a basically a rectangle flown by all aircraft that wish to take off or land. A traffic pattern is
vital for a safe landing because you have time to complete all necessary checklists and you
have the ability to change your altitude and airspeed before turning "Final".
Take off
Taking off an aircraft is relatively straight forward. power is gently increased to full throttle;
the rudder is used to keep the aircraft on the runway. The aileron's are used to keep the
wings level and when the correct speed is reached the control column is slowly eased back
until the aircraft lift's of the ground.

Landing
Landing an aircraft is easier said than done, but the procedure is similar for every aircraft. A
good landing starts with a good traffic pattern, this will give you a nice long final at the
correct altitude and speed and you have time for all your checklists.
Here is a textbook landing procedure;

- Downwind leg : Trim your aircraft for your approach speed (Unique for every aircraft),
Check if your runway is clear and if possible try to spot or "Feel" which direction the wind is
coming from. Just before you turn to base leg lower your gear and set your flaps to the
landing position. Turn to base leg when the runway threshold is at your 7:30 "O clock" or
4:30 in case of a left or right hand pattern.
- Base leg: correct your altitude and airspeed as desired and turn in for final.
- Final leg: align your aircraft with the centreline of the runway, aim your decent at the
runway threshold and make small changes with throttle and stick to keep your angle of
decent steady.
- Touchdown: When you are close to the ground start slowly pulling back on the stick
(flaring) until you are flying parallel over the runway with about 1 foot of altitude. Once flying
parallel with the runway slowly retard the throttle and try to keep the aircraft airborne until the
airspeed is so low it touches down by itself.

Often made mistakes

Approaching to fast: This will usually make you bounce back into the air after touching the
ground
Approaching to slow: This can be fatal; a stall at low altitude will most likely create a large
mess.
Flaring to high: Causes the aircraft to touch down hard and can destroy your gear.
Flaring too late: Causes the aircraft to hit the ground hard and can also destroy your gear.

Flat spin
A flat spin can be caused by stalling the aircraft asymmetrically, meaning one wing stalls
before the other in il2 sadly this is the only stall implemented in the game.
Flat spin entry and recovery

Entry
Entering a spin is easy, it can be done at high speed by increasing the angle of attack to
much Pulling to hard on the stick), or at low speed by kicking the rudder hard right or left and
pulling the stick full up just before reaching stall speed. Keep your rudder and stick in the
position until your aircraft has completed 3 rotations in most aircraft you will now be in a flat
spin.

Recovery
Some aircraft don’t need any help getting out of a flat spin but others like the P39 are really
difficult to recover from a flat spin.
Recovery: Apply full rudder opposite to the direction of the spin, push the stick full forwards
and apply aileron into the direction of the spin. If these three things don’t have any effect
after 3 rotations you can try if applying full throttle or cutting the throttle works. If all this fails
(Not very likely) you can lower your gear and flaps, if this has no effect bailing out is the best
option.

OR Remember PARE

Power - Idle

Ailerons – Neutral (flaps too)

Rudder – Opposite direction of the spin

Elevator – Push to gain speed then slowly climb out of the dive

Following a flight lead

Following a flight lead is a vital skill which becomes better and better trough time and
experience. It’s simply making small adjustments with throttle and flight controls to stay close
to your flight leader but even more important is doing what your flight lead say's regardless
of what you think of what he is saying.
A good wingman team does what the other say's without hesitation. If you wait with
executing a command you risk being shot down.

Basic VFR Navigation

VFR Navigation is nothing else then following landmarks from your base to your target and
back.
Rainman 71 used to say Ve Follow Roads, and I frankly can’t think of a better explanation.