PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT

ATPL GROUND TRAINING SERIES

ATPL GROUND TRAINING SERIES
PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT
PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT CHAPTER 1

The primary requirements of an aircraft are as follows: WING

FUSELAGE
A wing to generate a lift force. TAIL

A fuselage to house the payload.

Tail surfaces to add stability.

ENGINE
Control surfaces to change the direction of flight, and

Engines to make it go forward. CONTROL

 WEIGHT
• An aeroplane, like all bodies, has mass. With the aircraft
stationary on the ground it has only the force due to the
acceleration of gravity acting upon it. This force, its WEIGHT,
acts vertically downward at all times.
 LIFT
• Before an aeroplane can leave the ground and fly, the force of weight
must be balanced by a force which acts upwards. This force is called
LIFT. The lift force must be increased until it is the same as the
aeroplane’s weight.
THRUST

• To generate a lift force, the aeroplane must be propelled forward

through the air by a force called THRUST, provided by the engine(s).
DRAG
• From the very moment the aeroplane begins to move, air resists its
forward motion with a force called DRAG.
• When an aeroplane is moving there are four main forces acting upon
it:
WEIGHT, LIFT, THRUST and DRAG.
These are all closely interrelated, i.e.:
• The greater the weight - the greater the lift requirement.
• The greater the lift - the greater the drag.
• The greater the drag - the greater the thrust required
• Air has properties which change with altitude. Knowledge of these
variables, together with their effect on an aeroplane, is a prerequisite
for a full understanding of the principles of flight.
• The structural and aerodynamic design of an aeroplane is a
masterpiece of compromise. An improvement in one area frequently
leads to a loss of efficiency in another.
• An aeroplane does not ‘grip’ the air as a car does the road. An
aeroplane is often not pointing in the same direction in which it is
moving.