The Airplane

Pilot Ground School 2010 - Lesson 1.1

Outline

The Airplane Parts of an Airplane Propulsion System Landing Gear Construction Materials Control System Loads and Load Factors Logbooks and Inspection Aircraft Classes and Categories

The Airplane

Aircraft - Any machine capable of flight Canadian Air Regulations (CARs) definition of an Airplane:
Power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft deriving its lift in flight from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces that remain fixed under given conditions of flight."

Some Airplane Classifications:

Wing position (high/low/mid wing) Number of engines (single or multi-engine) Undercarriage (wheels, skis, floats, retractable and nonretractable)

Parts of an Airplane

Essential components of airplane: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Fuselage (body) Lifting Surfaces (wings) Empennage (tail section) Propulsion System (engines) Undercarriage (landing gear)

Airframe

Complete structure of airplane, except for instruments and engines

Parts of an Airplane
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Propeller Landing Gear Wing Strut Wing Right Wing Aileron Right Wing Flap Fuselage Horizontal Stabilizer Vertical Stabilizer Rudder Elevator Left Wing Flap Left Wing Aileron Door Seat Windshield Engine Cowl

The Fuselage

Central body of airplane Accommodates crew, passengers, and cargo Wings, tail, landing gear, and engine all attached to fuselage

Classed according to construction method (truss, monocoque, semi-monocoque)

Truss Fuselage

Steel tubes (Longerons and Girders) form frame Principle member = Longerons (lengthwise tubes) Covered by fabric, metal or composite materials Frame takes all load

Monocoque Fuselage

Solid structure (or skin) with no internal frame (example: pop can) Usually made of composite materials Skin takes all load

Semi-Monocoque Fuselage

Monocoque structure with internal frame/stiffeners (Formers and Stringers), covered with Stressed Skin. Principle Member = Formers (AKA Bulkheads) Formers and Stressed Skin take load

The Wing

Airplane wings either:

Monoplanes - One pair of wings, most modern aircraft Biplanes - Two pairs of wings, older designs

Wing shapes:
Rectangular Tapered (from wing root to wing tip) Elliptical Delta

The Wing

Wings attached:
Bottom of fuselage = low wing Middle of fuselage = mid wing Top of fuselage = high wing

High wings either:

Externally braced (supported by struts) Fully cantilevered (no struts)

Inside The Wing

Spars run from wing root to wing tip

One spar = monospar More than one = multispar

Ribs run from leading edge to trailing edge

They are cambered (curved) to give wing shape Wing covering attached to ribs

Compression Struts hold spars in place and take some of the load between them

The Wing

Parts of the Wing

Ailerons

Control surfaces near wing tips on trailing edge Allow airplane to Roll

Wing Root = Section of wing closest to fuselage Wing Tip = Outer edge of the wing, farthest from fuselage Chord
Imaginary line between leading and trailing edge of wing Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC) is average of chord along wing (if wing tapers)

Span = Maximum distance from wing tip to wing tip

Flaps
Attached to trailing edge of wing, close to fuselage They increase or decrease camber of that section of wing

The Tail Section (Empennage)

Four main parts:

Vertical Stabilizer (AKA Fin) Rudder Horizontal Stabilizer (AKA Stabilizer) Elevator

Horizontal stabilizer is airfoil which balances aircraft, and provides longitudinal stability Vertical stabilizer is vertical surface which provides directional stability

Elevator

Control surface for pitch (up and down motion of airplane) Hinged to horizontal stabilizer, provides longitudinal control

The Tail Section (Empennage)

Rudder
Control surface for yaw (left and right motion of plane) Hinged to vertical stabilizer, provides directional control

Stabilator
Horizontal stabilizer and elevator combined into one surface. Pivots around point where its hinged onto fuselage

Trim tab
Surface fixed or hinged onto control surface Helps pilot by taking pressure off flight controls during various phases of flight

The Propulsion System

Planes powered by:

Piston-engines (props) Turbine engines (turbo-props) Jet engines (jets)

Most small airplanes in use today have piston engines similar to car engines

The Landing Gear

Landing gear:
Supports aircraft on surface Takes shock of landing

Landing Gear can be either:

Nose Wheel (AKA tricycle) Tail Wheel (AKA tail-dragger)

Landing gear can also be fixed or retractable (reduces drag)

Construction Materials

Aircraft frames must be: light, strong and rigid (stiff) Some materials: - Steel - Dural (aluminum alloy with copper and magnesium) - Alclad (dural between two layers of pure aluminum) - Magnesium Alloy - Honeycomb Construction (metal honeycomb pattern between to sheets of metal - Composite (fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin molded over a foam form) - Wood - Fabric

Corrosion

Normally caused by oxidation, which is reaction between metal and moisture in the air, causing surface to dissolve (Example: Rust) Forms of corrosion are:
Oxidation Intercrystalline Dissimilar Metals Stress Corrosion (and Corrosion Fatigue) Fretting Corrosion

Stresses

Stress - Force that can cause a strain Strain - Distortion (changing of shape) of an object due to stress 5 types of stresses:
Compression (crushing) Tension (stretching) Torsion (twisting) Shearing (cutting) Bending

Control Systems

Three main control surfaces

Rudder (controls yaw) Elevator (controls pitch) Ailerons (controls roll)

Rudder controlled by foot pedals

Elevator and ailerons controlled by control column, which can either be a control stick (or stick) or a control wheel (or yoke). Some airplanes may also have side-yokes or sidesticks.

Trim

Used by pilot to help take some pressure off flight controls Trim Tabs
Hinged to trailing edge of ailerons, rudders and elevators May be fixed or controllable

Some trimming methods: - Trim Tabs - Anti-servo Tabs - Servo Tabs - Adjustable Stabilizer - Moveable Tail - Spring Trim - Electric Trim

Loads and Load Factors

Wing Loading - Gross weight divided by area of lifting surfaces (lb per sq ft) Span Loading - Gross weight divided by span (lb per ft) Power Loading Gross weight divided by engine horsepower (lb per hp)

Load Factor - Ratio of live load (actual load on wings) to dead load (Gross Weight, or aircraft weight on ground)

Logbooks and Inspections

Logbooks

Aircraft Journey Log

Always carried on aircraft during flight Records daily flight time, air time, fuel and oil added, maintenance etc

Aircraft Technical Log

Not carried on aircraft Records everything concerning maintenance, repairs and modifications

Personal Logbooks

Logs every flight by pilot Records flight time, airplane, routes etc Also records licences, training info and total flight time

Logbooks and Inspections

Air Time and Flight Time

Air Time - Starts when wheels leave ground, ends when wheels touch back down Flight Time - When aircraft starts moving under its own power to when it stops, for the purpose of flight

Inspection

Pilots must inspect aircraft before each flight, for general airworthiness, fuel and oil etc All aircraft must be periodically inspected by a qualified maintenance engineer and certified as airworthy in the aircraft technical and journey logs

Aircraft Classes and Categories

Aircraft Categories are general definitions of aircraft, such as: Airplanes, Rotorcraft, Gliders, Lighter-Than-Air and Powered-Lift In each category, there are specific classes, such as singleengine, multi-engine, landplane, seaplane, helicopter, gyroplane, balloon etc Aircraft Types are specific models of aircraft, such as a Cessna 172, Boeing 747, Schweitzer 2-33 etc