Outline of Presentation

Introduction
The Atmosphere
Newtons Laws of Motion
Bernoullis Principle
Airfoil
Parts of an Airplane
The Four Forces of Flight
Three Axes of Movement
Stability
Control

INTRODUCTION
It is unnecessary that a mechanic be totally versed on
Aerodynamics and Theory of Flight. However he must
understand the relationships between the atmosphere, the
aircraft and the forces acting on it in flight, in order to make
intelligent decisions affecting the flight safety of both airplanes
and helicopters.

Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is the study of objects in motion through
the air and the forces that produce or change such motion.

The Atmosphere
Air is a mixture of gases composed principally of nitrogen
and oxygen.

An aircraft operates in the air, therefore, the

properties of air that affect aircraft control and performance must

be understood.
Pressure Atmospheric pressure varies with altitude. The
higher an object rises above sea level, the lower the pressure.
Density It varies directly with the pressure and inversely with
the temperature. With the same horse power, an aircraft can fly
faster at high altitude because of less resistance of air at there.
Humidity Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. It
varies directly with temperature.

Newton's First Law of Motion

According to Newton's first law of motion (inertia), an object at
rest will remain at rest, or an object in motion will continue in
motion at the same speed and in the same direction, until an
outside force acts on it. For an aircraft to taxi or fly, a force
must be applied to it. It would remain at rest without an
outside force. Once the aircraft is moving, another force must
act on it to bring it to a stop. It would continue in motion
without an outside force. This willingness of an object to
remain at rest or to continue in motion is referred to as inertia.

Newton's Second Law of Motion

The second law of motion (force) states that if a object moving
with uniform speed is acted upon by an external force, the
change of motion (acceleration) will be directly proportional to
the amount of force and inversely proportional to the mass of
the object being moved. The motion will take place in the
direction in which the force acts. Simply stated, this means that
an object being pushed by 10 pounds of force will travel faster
than it would if it were pushed by 5 pounds of force. A heavier
object will accelerate more slowly than a lighter object when an
equal force is applied.

F=ma

Newton's Third Law of Motion

The third law of motion (action and reaction) states that for
every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction
(force). This law can be demonstrated with a balloon. If you
inflate a balloon with air and release it without securing the
neck, as the air is expelled the balloon moves in the opposite
direction of the air rushing out of it. Figure shows this law of
motion.
Balloon

Reaction

Air

Action

BERNOULLI'S PRINCIPLE
Bernoulli's principle states that when a fluid flowing through a
tube reaches a constriction or narrowing of the tube, the
speed of the fluid passing through the constriction is increased
and its pressure is decreased.

Pressure Drop in Venturi Tube

Airfoil
An airfoil is the shape of a wing or blade (of a propeller, rotor
or turbine) as seen in cross-section. An aircraft's wings,
horizontal, and vertical stabilizers are built with airfoil-shaped
cross sections, as are helicopter rotor blades.
- The mean camber line is a line drawn midway between the
upper and lower surfaces.
- The chord line is a straight line connecting the leading and
trailing edges of the airfoil, at the ends of the mean camber
line.
Chord line
Mean camber line

Airfoil as a Venturi Tube

kinetic energy
(velocity)

velocity
increases

potential energy
(pressure)

pressure
decreases

Lift force appear

Parts of an Airplane
Cockpit

Empennage

Fuselage

Stabilizers

Wing

Rudder

Flap

Elevator

Aileron

Engine

Parts of An Airplane

The Four Forces of Flight

The forces acting on an airplane in flight are lift, weight, thrust,
and drag. These forces are in equilibrium during straight-andlevel, unaccelerated flight.

LIFT

DRAG

THRUST
WEIGHT

Lift
Lift is the force created by the interaction between the wings
and the airflow. It always act upwards. It is considered to be
the 'most important force' as without it, an aircraft cannot
ascend from ground and maintain altitude.
Lift is an aerodynamic force
Lift must exceed weight for flight
Generated by motion of aircraft through air
Created by the effects of airflow past wing
Aircraft lift acts through a single point called the center
of pressure.

Newtons Third Law and Lift

Newtons Second Law and Lift

Lift: Wing Section

Lift Equation: L=CL A V2

Angle of Attack
The angle of attack is the angle between the chord line
and the average relative wind.
Greater angle of attack creates more lift (up to a point).

Angle of Attack and Lift Force

High velocity
Low pressure

Low velocity
High pressure

Angle of Incidence
The angle of incidence is the angle between the chord line
and the longitudinal axis of aircraft.
It is the angle of wing setting.
When the leading edge of the wing is higher than the
trailing edge, the angle of incidence is said to be positive.
It is negative when the leading edge is lower than the
trailing edge of the wing.
Chor
d line

Aircraft longitudina
l axis

Angle of incidence

Horizontal Component of Lift

Lift and Induced Drag

Lift acts through the center of pressure, and
perpendicular to the relative wind.
This creates induced drag.
induced drag

chord

effective
lift
line

average
relative w
ind

total
lift

Shape of the Airfoil

The shape of the airfoil determines the
amount of turbulences or skin friction
that it will produce. The shape of a wing
consequently affects the efficiency of
the wing. A wing may have various
airfoil section from root to tip, with
taper, twist, sweep back and sweep
forward.

Wing Shapes

Weight
This force acts on an aircraft due to the interaction between
the aircraft's body weight and Earth's gravity. Weight is a
downward force.
Weight is not constant
Varies with passengers, cargo, fuel load
Decreases as fuel is consumed or payload off-loaded
Direction is constant toward earths center
Acts through a single point called the center of gravity
(the CG)

Thrust
This force is created by an aircraft's engine and is required for
forward motion.
Forward-acting force opposes drag
Direction of thrust depends on design
Propulsion systems produce thrust
Equal to drag in straight, constant speed flight

Drag
This force acts in reverse direction to that of 'Thrust' and
hinders forward motion. Drag is considered as a negative force
and all engineers try their best to reduce drag.
An aerodynamic force.
Resists forward motion.
Increases with the square of speed.
Two broad drag classifications.
Parasite drag: drag created by airplane shape.
A result of air viscosity.
Induced drag: by-product of lift generation.
Caused by the wingtip vortices.

Drag Equation: D=CD A V2

Example of Drag Formation

Skin Friction Drag

Three Axes of Movement

Axis of Yaw (Vertical Axis)

Axis of Roll (Longitudinal Axis)

Axis of Pitch (Lateral Axis)

Pitch Around the Lateral Axis

Roll Around Longitudinal Axis

Yaw Around the vertical Axis

Stability
An aircraft must have sufficient stability to maintain a uniform
flight path and recover from the various upsetting forces also
to achieve the best performance.
There are two types of stability
Static Stability - The initial movement of an object after being
disturbed.
Positive Static Stability returns to position before
displacement.
Neutral Static Stability tendency to remain in displaced
position.
Negative Static Stability tends to continue away from
displaced position in same direction.
Dynamic Stability - The behavior of the object over time.
Positive Dynamic Stability the oscillations or phugoids
dampen themselves out.
Neutral Dynamic Stability the oscillations or phugoids carry
on with out increasing in severity.
Negative Dynamic Stability the oscillations or phugoids
increase in severity and diverge.

Static Stability
Positive-Neutral-Negative

Dynamic Stability
Positive Dynamic Stability

Natural Dynamic Stability

Negative Dynamic Stability

Stability recover by a dihedral wing

Smaller wing area

Larger wing area
More lift

Less lift

Stability recover by a sweep back wing

Stability recover by keel effect

CONTROL

To achieve the best performance, the aircraft must have the

proper response to the movement of the controls. Control is the
action taken to make the aircraft follow any desired flight path.
Different Control surfaces are used to control the aircraft about
each of the three axes.
Flight Control Surfaces Hinged or moveable airfoils
designed to change the attitude of the aircraft during flight.
3. Auxiliary group
1. Primary group
- wing flaps
- ailerons
- spoilers
- elevators
- speed brakes
- rudder
- slats
2. Secondary group
- leading edge flaps
- trim tab, spring tab
- slots
- servo tab, balance tab

Flight Control Surfaces

Spoiler
Spoiler
Flap

Flap

wing flaps

leading edge slots

spoilers

leading edge slats

speed brakes

Control around the Longitudinal Axis

ROLLING

Ailerons The ailerons form a part of the wing and are located in
the trailing edge of the wing towards the tips. The control stick is
connected by means of wires or hydraulics to the wings ailerons. By
turning the stick, the pilot can change the positions of the ailerons.

Control around the Vertical Axis

YAWING
Rudder The rudder is a
moveable control surface
attached to the trailing edge of the
vertical stabilizer. The foot pedals
are connected by means of wires
or hydraulics to the rudder of the
tail section. The rudder can also
be used in controlling a bank or
turn in flight.

Moving rudder to the

right forces tail to the
left, nose to the right

Moving rudder to the

left forces tail to the
right, nose to the left.

Control around the Lateral Axis

PITCHING
Elevators Elevators are the
movable control surfaces hinged to
the trailing edge of the horizontal
stabilizer. The control stick is
connected by means of wires or
hydraulics to the tail sections
elevators.
- Stabilator
- Ruddervator