PPL Online 2nd Course Agk Aeroplane Sum

PRIVATE PILOT LICENCE
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AIRCARFT GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Lesson 1: Airframe Design and Materials
 The Major Airframe Components
 The airframe is the main structure of an aircraft
 The major components of an airframe are
 The fuselage
 The wings
 The empennage
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 The Main Control Surfaces
 The wings and the empennage are the aerodynamic surfaces used to generate the
aerodynamic forces which lift the aircraft into the air and control its movements
 The flight control surfaces are attached to the wings and empennage via hinges which
allow them to move, these are
 The ailerons which cause the aircraft to roll left and right
 The elevator which causes the aircraft to pitch nose up and nose down
 The rudder which causes the aircraft to skew (yaw) left and right
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 Fuselage Construction Methods
 The earliest aircraft structures comprised wood or steel tubing frames, covered with
fabric which was then doped to make the fabric skin tight
 Bracing frames were used to prevent the structure from buckling
 Known as a truss
 Designed to carry tension and compression loads
 Steel wire braced the structure and longerons provided stiffness to resist the main
bending loads
 The fabric covering played no part in the structural strength of the assembly
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 Fuselage Construction Methods
 Used aluminium in place of wood
 If the metal skin was made thick enough, the internal framework could be much
reduced
 Furthermore the curvature of the metal skin actually improved its strength and ability to
resist bending and compression loads
 A new form of construction in which a series of frames joined by longerons defined the
structure’s shape
 The metal skin was then attached around the whole assembly
 This became known as stressed skin monocoque construction
 Requires no internal framework or truss
 Load bearing metal skin is usually made of aluminium alloy, magnesium, titanium or
composite material
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 Monocoque Construction
 Skin – provides a smooth outer cover for the aircraft and is designed to withstand
tension and compression stresses
 Formers and frames – define the structure’s shape, carry the main loads and provide
attachment points for sections of skin
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 Semi-monocoque Construction
 Aircraft skin: smooth outer aerodynamic shape to tension and compression stresses
 Formers/frames: define the structure’s shape and provide attachment points for the skin
 Stringers: run longitudinally down the fuselage and are bonded to the skin
 Longerons: the main longitudinal load-carrying members of the fuselage
 Bulkheads: provide structural partitions inside the fuselage and divide the fuselage into
bays
 Firewall: fire resistant bulkhead installed between an engine compartment and the rest
of the airframe structure
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 Doors
 Doors are mounted in the fuselage to allow pilot and passengers access to the cabin
 On most light aircraft access to the doors involves climbing up onto the wing root
 A step is usually provided for the purpose
 One or more door latches are used to lock the door before flight
 It is important that you check that all doors are secure before flight
 Passenger cabin doors are always hinged on their forward facing edge so that if they
become unlocked in flight the slipstream will act to keep the door closed, or almost
closed
 An unlocked door in flight is not a major emergency
 If a door appears to be unlocked do not allow yourself to become distracted by it
 Ask a passenger to close it or land and do it yourself
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 Windows
 Windows on light aircraft are usually made of laminated plastic (perspex)
 Slightly stronger material is used for the windscreen than the side windows because this
has to withstand the full force of the airflow
 The windscreen should be cleaned regularly with a non-abrasive cleaner
 A dirty windscreen, especially when flying into sun, can seriously reduce your visibility
 Always make sure the windscreen is clean before flight
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 Fuselage Shape
 The shape of the fuselage is very approximately tubular but the exact shape is often very
complex, comprising numerous curves and tapers
 Is designed to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible whilst providing enough space
for the passenger cabin, the engine and other essential internal components
 Pressurisation
 Some aircraft have pressurised cabins so that the pilot and his passengers can cruise at
high altitude without the need to wear oxygen masks
 Pressurisation requires that part of the fuselage is completely sealed to prevent
pressurised air leaking out
 This adds weight and further complication to the structure
 Because of this pressurised cabins usually have smaller cabin windows to increase the
overall area of metal in the cabin structure
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 The Wings
 Support the weight of aircraft
 May provide attachment points for the engines
 Often store fuel
 Therefore they need to be very strong
 Wing Design
 The cantilever wing
 The semi-cantilever wing
 The externally braced wing
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 Stressed-Skin Wing
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 D-Spar Construction
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 Wing Spar
 Is the main span-wise structural member of the wing
 Withstands bending loads and supports the weight of the wing on the ground
 Large or very long wings may have more than one spar
 Typically constructed either as box section or as an I beam
 The Main Spar
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 Torsion Box
 With multiple spar designs the spars are linked together to form a torsion box
 The torsion box is very rigid, resistant to twisting and greatly adds to wing strength
 I Beam Spar Construction
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 Wing Ribs
 Provide aerodynamic shape
 Allow the stressed skin to be attached to the wing structure and transfer the loads into
the spar
 Stringers
 Combine with ribs to share loads and transfer load to spars
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 Stressed Skin
 Provides the smooth aerodynamic outer cover and withstands tension and compression
stresses
 Fuel Storage Spaces

 Internal wing spaces can form an integral fuel tank
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 The Empennage
 The empennage or tail assembly comprises the horizontal stabilizer (or tailplane) and
the vertical stabiliser (or fin)
 Tail Assembly
 Provide longitudinal stability from the horizontal stabilizer and longitudinal control from
the rudder
 Provide directional stability from the vertical stabiliser and directional control from the
rudder
 A main spar carries the main bending loads, ribs define the structure’s shape and
stressed skin covers the assembly
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 Tail Configurations
 The horizontal stabiliser can be mounted either at the base of the fin or at the top of the
fin as shown
 Allows the tailplane to stay clear of the airflow behind the wing
 Ensures smoother air flow over the aerodynamic surfaces and more predictable flight
characteristics
 The disadvantage of the T tail is that it can become enveloped in turbulent air at very
high angles of attack and thus lose all effectiveness
 A high mounted tailplane also imposes large stresses on the fin which must be built
much stronger
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 The Safe Life Concept
 Manufacturer designs aircraft for safety over life span
 Safe life principle requires structure to have good design life
 Safe life is measured in
 Flight hours
 Landings
 Calendar duration
 Fail-safe Multiple Load Path
 The structure has a number of fail-safe multiple load-paths or damage tolerant areas
 Components in safety critical areas of the aircraft are duplicated, allowing for
redundancy
 In fact any part of the structure in which a failure could lead to loss of the aircraft
requires multiple load paths
 Multiple load paths ensure that, if one path fails, an alternative load path can carry all
the loads through the duplicated structural component - at least for a while
 Hence the term fail safe
 Periodic inspections ensures that failures are picked up
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 Fail-safe Multiple Load Path (cont.)
 The fail-safe multiple load path concept leads to
 Heavier aircraft which reduces performance
 Increasing operating cost
 Excess weight avoided by structure being damage-tolerant
 Damage tolerant structures have crack-arresting features
 Surrounding load paths carry the loads until crack detected
 Wing Fuselage Fail-safe
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 Loads and Stresses
 Aircraft structures are subject stress and strain
 Stress is the internal force per unit area inside a structural component as a result of
external loads
 Strain is the deformation caused by stress on a material, given as a change in dimension
percentage of original
 There are four main types of stress
 Tension
 Compression
 Torsion
 Shear
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 Elastic and Plastic Deformation
 Elasticity is the tendency of a material to return to its original shape after the external
load is removed
 Objects are said to be undergoing elastic deformation
 Plasticity is the tendency of a material to permanently deform when subjected to
external load
 When a material is easily deformed it is said to have plastic properties and is susceptible
to plastic deformation
 The two properties are not mutually exclusive
 Metals such as aluminium posses both elasticity and plasticity
 A certain amount of external load may result in elastic deformation but beyond that
point any further increase in load result in a permanent, plastic, deformation
 In the case of metal, plastic deformation leads to buckling of the component – a
permanent deformation of its shape
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 Loads and Stresses on Aircraft
 Structures may experience more than one type of stress simultaneously
 Under positive “g” conditions in flight, the wing experiences compression stresses along
its upper structure and tension stresses along its lower structure
 Excessive compression force could lead to buckling
 e.g. the main spar could buckle
 Even a slightly buckled spar will be permanently and significantly weakened
 Buckling may be indicated by
 Wrinkled skin
 Pulled rivets
 Unusual wrinkles in the skin, or loose rivets, must be investigated further by a qualified
maintenance engineer
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 Dynamic and Static Loads
 Forces imposed by manoeuvring are known as dynamic loads
 Dynamic loads build up and subside very quickly
 A rapid build-up of load can impose severe stresses on materials
 Static loads build up very slowly over time or remain more or less constant over a period
of time
 For example, the loads when stationary on the ground
 Bending Loads
 The wing root experiences a large bending moment
 On ground static force of main landing gear acting on wings
 In air upward dynamic forces produced by lift
 Airborne bending counteracted by weight force of fuel, this gives a degree of bending
relief
 Maximum stress occurs with empty wing tanks when the aircraft is “loaded”
 Because bending relief, the aircraft’s maximum permissible all-up mass is often greater
than its maximum zero fuel mass
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 Bending Loads (cont.)
 Primary bending forces are controlled by observing the aircraft’s loading and ‘g’
limitations
 The Maximum Zero Fuel Mass (MZFM) limitation ensures that the maximum wing
loading at the wing root is not exceeded at the designed maximum load factor (‘g’)
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 The amount of bending relief depends on fuel quantity and distribution
 Aircraft operating procedures often require you to distribute and balance the fuel
 Some aircraft manufacturers use a system known as load alleviation in which the flight
controls are rigged to provide wing spar bending relief during flight
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 On the ground the weight force acts downward on the structure reversing the loading
across the wing in the section outboard of the landing gear
 The upper surface of the wing is now under tension and the lower surface under
compression
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 Cyclic Loads
 The loads experienced by an aircraft alternate according to the flight phase
 Other components are subject to cycles of compression and tension
 Cyclic application of loads is highly significant because constant cycles of alternating
compression and tension can lead to metal fatigue
 Ultimate Load and Limit Load
 Aircraft applying for certification must
pass a static load test
 A load equivalent to 150% of the most
extreme forces expected in flight is
applied to the wing structure which
has to withstand it, without failing, for
at least 3 seconds
 Ultimate load test ensures that failure
limits will be met
 “Factor of Safety” for ultimate load is
derived by 1.5 times limit load
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 Fatigue
 Repeated cycles of alternating stresses cause microscopic cracks within metal
 The crack grow over time
 When they reach a critical size they cause an almost instantaneous large fracture across
the component – at which point the material is said to have failed
 The cycles of compression and tension produce metal fatigue more rapidly when the
stresses are larger
 Fatigue usually requires a number of cycles before failure
 Greater mass causes greater stress and requires fewer cycles before failure
 An airframe will have a fatigue life calculated by the manufacturer related to
 The number of hours flown
 The number of specified fatigue cycles
 Fatigue life will be used up much more quickly by a heavier aircraft
 A 1% increase in weight leads to a 5% increase in fatigue life consumption
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 Fatigue (cont.)
 The relationship between repeated applications of stress as a percentage of ultimate
load and number of cycles is shown on S/N curve
 Example 1000 cycles at 50% of ultimate load will cause structural failure
 At 30% of the ultimate load the number of cycles before failure increases to 10 000
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 Design Factors Affecting Fatigue
 Failure is more likely under tensile loading
 Failures first start at points where stress is concentrated
 Maximum stress is experienced at sharp corners or ridges
 Poorly drilled rivet holes and even slight gouges on surface provide concentrations of
stress which become very susceptible to metal fatigue
 Design Factors Affecting Fatigue
 Flying technique
 Corrosion
 Material properties
 Flying Technique
 Fatigue life is very much dependent on the size of the loads experienced by the aircraft
 Anything you do to reduce these loads, such as avoiding coarse manoeuvring, avoiding
areas of turbulence and not flying with excessive fuel loads increases the number of
cycles before a fatigue failure
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 Corrosion
 Corrosion also provides a natural starting point for fatigue
 It destroys the smooth surface of the metal exposing its underlying sharp crystalline
structure
 Material Properties
 Good fail safe design and resistance to fatigue are essential qualities for an airframe
 The choice of construction material can greatly influence both factors
 Airframes are built almost exclusively from aluminium alloys
 To satisfy the demanding requirements of an airframe, these alloys must possess a
number of qualities including
 Elasticity: the ability of the material to return to its original shape
 Plasticity: the ability of the material to withstand stress deformation without failure and return almost
to its original shape
 Stiffness: in some parts of the airframe stiffness is highly desirable, in others the requirement is for
flexibility
 Strength: the designer is particularly interested in the strength to density ratio, because the quest is
always for a light but strong structure
 Common materials used for aircraft include aluminium, titanium, magnesium alloys and
steel
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 Material Properties
 Usually a combination of metals will be used in the design
 Proportions that optimise the different properties of each
 The most commonly used metal is aluminium alloy
 May be added lithium, magnesium, manganese, silicon, zinc
 End result superior strength and dramatic weight reduction
 Composites
 Combination two or more organic / inorganic components
 One material used as matrix to hold everything together, other provides reinforcement
in the form of fibres
 Some composite structures include a honeycomb core
 Matrix materials are generally thermosetting, for example epoxy resin or polyamide
 Reinforcing materials are usually fibres of glass, boron, carbon or Kevlar
 Advanced Composites
 Fibre: the main load carrying element, woven into mats or tapes
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 Advanced Composites (cont.)
 Matrix: the material that supports the fibres, bonds them together and holds them in
the desired orientation
 Core: a material sometimes used in conjunction with fibre mats to create a strong
sandwich-type laminate
 Fibre
 The strongest and lightest fibres are made from carbon or graphite and are used for the
major load-bearing structures such as the wing spars
 These are also the most expensive materials so, in less critical areas, glass (silicate) fibres
are used instead
 Fibres are woven into mats
 Fibres provide all their strength and stiffness along their length and little in other
directions
 Consequently different patterns of weave result in different pattens of strength and
elasticity across the matt
 Different weave patterns are used according to which areas of the structure need to flex
and which need to be absolutely rigid
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 Fibre (cont.)
 The laminate’s strength, stiffness and flexibility can be finely adjusted by using tight or
loosely wound fibres
 By doing this the designer can create a structure that, for example, bends in one
direction but not the other
 Matrix
 Comprises a resin which sets hard when heated (thermoset resin) such as polyester,
vinyl, phenolic resin, or epoxy
 Thermoplastics are beginning to replace thermosets as the matrix material for some
applications
 Resins are soaked into the fibre matting to form the matrix of the composite material
 Resins are also used as the bonding agent to glue different composite structures
together
 Core
 Sometimes a composite structure will include a foam or honeycomb core which replaces
some of the heavier matrix material to produce an even lighter shape at some expense
of strength
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 Core (cont.)
 The honeycomb core supports the outer layers of mat, and helps them to resist buckling
and shear forces
 The core must have high compression stiffness and shear strength
 The core also provides thermal and acoustic insulation and helps to dampen vibration
Composite
Fibre Core
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 Composite Construction Method
 Created by laying-up composite materials in a mould
 The mould defines not just the external surface of the structure (the skin) but also the
airframe structure itself including structural elements which are similar in shape and
function to frames, ribs, longerons and stringers
 Once all the lay-up is complete, the resin has to be set (cured) using heat
 The layup and the mould are first encased in a vacuum bag
 The air is removed from the bag
 Atmospheric pressure now presses out excess resin and trapped air bubbles (voids)
 For aerospace applications the cured material must be <1% voids
 The whole assembly is then heated for several hours to cure it
 Composite construction results in an extremely light but very strong structure which is
also highly resistant to corrosion
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 Advantages of Composites
 Light, strong, stiff, durable, resistant to corrosion and fatigue
 Excellent strength to weight ratio
 Can be moulded into complex shapes
 Disadvantages of Composites
 Hard to inspect for flaws
 May absorb moisture which freeze causing delamination
 Expensive to produce
 Difficult to repair
 Not as tolerant to damage as aluminium
 Not naturally electrically conductive
 Tendency to heat up and delaminate when struck by lightning
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 Corrosion
 Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material
 There are two causes of corrosion
 Oxidisation - When a metal is exposed to the air
 Electrolytic - An electric current between two metals
 Degree of corrosion is proportional to level of moisture
 Stress Corrosion
 Interaction between fatigue and corrosion known as stress corrosion
 Caused by
 Combination of corrosive condition and steady tensile load
 Result is stress corrosion cracking
 Can occur during manufacture or aircraft’s operational life
 Metals under stress corrode more quickly than those not
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Lesson 2: Flight Controls
 Overview
 The primary flight controls comprise
 Elevators: to pitch the aircraft nose up and nose down
 Ailerons: to roll the aircraft left and right
 Rudder: to yaw the aircraft left and right
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 Overview (cont.)
 The ailerons (one on each wing) are mechanically linked together so that they always
operate together
 When one goes down the other goes up and vice versa
 The elevator control surfaces on the tailplane are mechanically linked and so always
operate together
 Both go up or both go down
 There is usually only one rudder control surface
 Control
 Control has two main axes of movement
 Fore (forwards) and aft (rearwards) to control the elevator
 Left and right to control the ailerons
 The control yoke is the most common type of control for elevator and ailerons
 Pushing forward causes the aircraft to pitch nose down, pulling back causes the aircraft to pitch nose
up
 Left and right to control the ailerons
 Turning the yoke left (anticlockwise) causes the aircraft to roll to the left, turning the yoke right causes
the aircraft to roll to the right
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 Control Yoke
 Roll the control yoke to the left to roll the aircraft to the left
 ‘Roll to the left’ means that the left wing drops and the right wing rises
 ‘Roll to the right’ means that the right wing drops and the left wing rises
 Any combination of left/right and fore/aft movement can be applied to the control
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 Rudder
 All aircraft operate the rudder using a pair of rudder pedals
 The pedals are mounted on a central bar that is hinged in the middle
 Pushing forward on the left pedal causes the nose of the aircraft to yaw to the left
 Pushing forward on the right pedal causes the nose of the aircraft to yaw to the right
 When you press one pedal forward the bar swivels on its central hinge
 As a result the other pedal moves backwards
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 Manual Control System
 Manual primary flight controls cheap, simple and reliable
 Used on light aircraft because aerodynamic forces easily manageable
 Stainless steel cable run from each control via pulley wheels
 Control movement through bell crank at control surface
 Allows aerodynamic forces at control surface to be felt at control column - aerodynamic
feel
 Aerodynamic feel gives pilot cues about airspeed and aircraft response
 Very desirable because it provides a natural protection against over-stressing
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 Principal Secondary Controls
 Don’t control aircraft attitude but provide finer control over aircraft and ease pilot
workload
 The principal secondary controls is flap
 A flap is a hinged surface mounted on the inboard trailing edge of each wing. Flaps are
always mounted in pairs, one on each wing
 Flaps can be ‘extended’ or ‘retracted’ using a control in the cockpit
 Flaps are extended at relatively low speeds to increase the lifting ability of the wing and
reduce the landing speed
 They are retracted for higher speed flight to reduce the drag on the aircraft
 Trailing edge flaps are found on almost all aircraft
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 Flap Operation
 Light aircraft don’t have many secondary controls
 Most are equipped with trailing edge flaps; some may have a basic speed brake
 Almost none will have slats or leading edge flaps or speed brakes
 Any asymmetry in flap extension could cause the aircraft to roll rapidly and
uncontrollably
 There are two methods by which light aircraft flaps are operated: mechanical and
electrical
 Mechanical Flap Operation
 A simple mechanical lever is connected to the flaps via cables and rods
 A small ratcheted lever rather like the handbrake in a car is used to lower and raise the
flaps
 The ratchet usually has 2 or 3 indents to allow the flaps to be mechanically set to one of
3 positions
 Operating the lever too quickly results in rapid flap movement which can cause effects
which are difficult to control
 Whenever you are using a manual system take care to lower and raise the flaps slowly
and gently
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 Electrical Flap Operation
 The flaps are driven by a small electric motor operated by a flap switch mounted on the
main instrument panel
 The switch may have 2 or 3 set positions or it may simply have an ‘up’, ‘off’ and ‘down’
setting
 When you operate the switch the flap motor is energised and drives the flaps, via worm
gears, up and down
 The motor is geared to raise and lower the flaps at a single predetermined rate
 A flap indicator or flap gauge shows the current position of the flaps
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 Placarded Speeds
 When a flap is lowered into the slip stream the forces acting on it can be quite large
 The faster the aircraft is travelling the greater will be the force on the flap – similarly, for
any given air speed, the more the flap is extended into the air stream the more force it
will experience
 Flap mechanisms and the flaps themselves are not infinitely strong
 When the flap is significantly extended, the aerodynamic loads at high speeds could
easily damage the aircraft’s structure or the flap itself
 The manufacturer sets maximum airspeed limits for all flap settings
 These speeds are printed on a small placard stuck on the instrument panel next to the
flap operating lever, hence the term placarded speeds
 Or are shown by coloured arcs on the air speed indicator
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 Trimming Systems
 A trimming system is used to hold the aircraft controls in the required place to keep the
aircraft in equilibrium
 When the trimming system is properly adjusted by the pilot no force is needed on the
controls to keep the aircraft in equilibrium
 In this condition the aircraft is said to be in trim
 Trim Tabs
 On light aircraft trimming is achieved through a combination of fixed and adjustable trim
tabs
 A trim tab is mounted on each set of control surfaces
 So the elevator has an elevator trim tab, the rudder has a rudder trim tab and the
ailerons have an aileron trim tab
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 Aileron Trim
 The control surfaces traditionally requiring the least amount of trim are the ailerons
 Unless you have a massive fuel imbalance or damage to a wing or flap, an aircraft’s
aileron trim is rarely adjusted
 Consequently, most aircraft will have a fixed aileron trim tab adjusted by maintenance
engineers to remove any small out of trim condition
 Rudder Trim
 Rudder trimming also becomes important on multi-engine aircraft after an engine has
failed
 Many aircraft will have an adjustable rudder trim tab operated by a small wheel in the
cockpit
 A manual rudder trim control is linked to the adjustable tab via cables and pulleys
 An electrical trim control energises a motor to drive the rudder trim tab to the desired
position
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 Elevator Trimming
 Elevator trimming is required so frequently that aircraft types will have either a big
mechanical elevator trim wheel which spins fore and aft or an electrical trim system
operated by a switch on the control column
 Whatever type of system the operating control will be easily accessible and used
constantly
 On aircraft with a conventional tailplane and elevator the trimming system will operate a
trim tab on the elevator control surface
 On a horizontal stabiliser design the trimming system will make tiny adjustments to the
stabiliser’s angle to bias it’s neutral position
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 Other Secondary Controls
 Slats
 Mounted on the leading edge of the wing allow it to operate at a higher angle of attack before it stalls
 Usually extend and retract automatically
 Spoilers
 Lift spoilers are fitted to the upper wing surface are used on the ground to dump lift after touchdown
 Control Locks
 The key differences between primary and secondary controls is that primary controls are
usually moving constantly in small or large deflections depending on the demand from
the pilot or autopilot
 Secondary controls tend to operate in a one-off fashion
 They are either ‘out’ or ‘in’ or ‘up’ or ‘down’
 Secondary controls usually need a locking device to keep them in position
 Aircraft with manual controls are prone to uncommanded movement of the control
surfaces when the aircraft is parked outside during high winds or gusty conditions
 To prevent this happening control locks are fitted, internal locks physically prevent
movement of the cockpit controls
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 Effect of Icing
 Stalling speed can increase because of
 Additional weight
 Reduced lift
 Performance can reduce because of
 Increased drag
 Reduced thrust
 Ice Protection Systems
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 Ice Protection Systems (cont.)
 Ice can block pitot tubes and static vents causing erroneous indications on the pressure
instruments
 Windscreen icing can reduce visibility
 Pitot static and flight instrument probes are heated continuously to prevent ice
formation blocking holes
 Warning lights indicate any heater failure
 The front windscreens of all modern jet transport aircraft are electrically heated
 Heating the glass not only prevent ice build-up but also improves the structure’s ability
to withstand impacts
 Windscreen heat is usually considered essential; the aircraft must not be dispatched
with an unserviceable system
 Thermostatically controlled to keep the windscreen glass at a steady temperature of
about 35°C
 Captions indicate when the system is operating normally and warn of any overheat
condition
 Some systems have low and high heat settings for light or heavy icing conditions
16 February 2021 55
 Ice Protection Systems (cont.)
 Some aircraft may use a fluid de-icing system for windscreen icing protection
 Rapid windscreen de-misting may also be achieved by directing hot air onto the glass
16 February 2021 56
Lesson 3: Hydraulics
 Introduction
 Many systems on an aircraft need to be operated remotely, so there needs to be a way
of connecting each operating mechanism to a control in the cockpit
 Some remote systems (for example wheel brakes) require quite a lot of force to operate
them
 A simple mechanical connection method using wire cables would not be ideal
 This is why hydraulic systems are sometimes essential
 Hydraulic systems use hydraulic oil running through pipes at high pressure to operate
controls and systems
 Almost all light aircraft have at least one hydraulic system, to operate the disk brakes on
the main wheels
 More sophisticated light aircraft may also have hydraulic systems to
 Raise and lower the landing gear
 Operate a constant speed propeller
16 February 2021 57
 Hydraulic Principles
 All fluids including have static pressure resulting from the energy of the fluid (it’s
temperature) and the force of its own weight
 Atmospheric air at sea level has a static pressure of approximately 1 bar (14.8psi) thanks
to the weight of air above it
 At any given depth in a fluid such as air, oil or water, if you measure the static pressure it
will be the same wherever you measure it along that depth line
 Pressure exerted anywhere in a confined incompressible fluid is transmitted equally in
all directions throughout the fluid such that the pressure ratio (initial difference)
remains the same
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 Hydraulic Principles
 Air is very compressible
 Oil and water are almost completely incompressible
 Incompressibility means
 Pressure force is instantaneously transferred to all points in the fluid
 According to Pascal’s law the pressure induced by a 500lb load on oil enclosed in a
cylinder is felt as 500lb of static pressure at every point in the oil
 If we were to place a 500 lb load on an enclosed column of air and an enclosed column
of oil, the force would be instantaneously transmitted through the oil but not through
the air – which would, at first, compress
 Notice that we are now talking about applying an external force to the fluid rather than
simply the force of its own weight
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 Static Pressure in a Fluid
 Regardless of the shape of enclosed space, once you apply pressure to an
incompressible fluid the same pressure will be transmitted to, and felt, at all points
within the space
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 Force, Pressure and Area
 Force
 Input or output expressed in pounds (lbs)
 Pressure
 Energy raised in the fluid is expressed in lbs per square inch (psi)
 Area
 The number of square units in the surface expressed in square inches (in2)
 As an equation
 Force = Pressure x Area
 Pressure = Force / Area
 Area = Force / Pressure
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 Force, Pressure and Area (cont.)
 If we apply a force of 20lb to the piston in the left cylinder exactly the same force will be
felt at the piston in the right cylinder
 The area of the piston face on the right cylinder is ten times the area of the piston face
on the left cylinder
 Input = 20lbs acting on 2in2 piston = 10 psi felt equally across the left cylinder
 10 psi acting on the larger piston of 20in2 in produces a force of 200lbs
 Although 10 times the force is experienced at the right piston, it moves through a much
smaller distance
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 Hydraulic Power
 Passive hydraulic systems use human power to raise pressure
 Active hydraulic systems use one or more pumps
 Active systems can supply
 Constant pressure all the time – closed centred systems
 Pressure only when demanded – open centred systems
 Hydraulic Fluid Requirements
 Low viscosity to allow it to flow freely through the system
 Resistance to foaming or creating sludge
 Good lubrication qualities
 Corrosion resistance
 Resistance to heat and thermal stability across the temperature range
 High boiling point and low freezing point (e.g. +80°C to -70°C)
 Chemically inert
 Non flammable with a flash point above 100°C
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 Hydraulic Fluid Requirements (cont.)
 Good storage properties
 Hydraulic fluid is available in two common forms
 Synthetic – used in systems with butyl rubber/teflon seals
 Mineral – for example DTD 585 which is coloured red
 It is imperative that the different types are not mixed
 Hydraulic fluids can be very corrosive so avoid contact and wear protective clothing
16 February 2021 64
 Elementary Hydraulic System
 The system is driven by a hand pump to drive an actuator
 A selector valve diverts hydraulic pressure to either side
 Actuator piston causing it to move in or out
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 Main Components of Elementary Hydraulic System
 Reservoir
 Non-return Valve (NRV)
 Pump
 Accumulator
 Selector valve
 Actuator
 Filter
 Pressure Relief Valve (PRV)
 Types of Hydraulic Circuit
 The type of hydraulic circuit used depends on the size of the aircraft and the complexity
of the hydraulic components to be operated
 Light aircraft may use a self-contained package system
 More complex aircraft require other hydraulic components
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 Types of Hydraulic Circuit (cont.)
 There are two fundamental types of system
 Passive Hydraulic System
 The passive hydraulic system has no hydraulic pump. Instead all the power must be supplied by the
pilot
 A good example of a passive system is the braking circuit on a light aircraft
 Active Hydraulic System
 An active hydraulic system uses one or more hydraulic pumps
 Simple active systems are used in older large aircraft and more complex active systems for multi-
engine jet transport aircraft
 Simplest system is the open centre or low pressure system
 Operates at up to 2000psi
 Pressure is only generated when a service requires it
 Used on used on older light aircraft
 Uses a spur gear pump to provide power
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 Open Centre System
 Simplest system is the open centre or low pressure system
 Operates at up to 2000psi
 Pressure is only generated when a service requires it
 Used on used on older light aircraft
 Uses a spur gear pump to provide power
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 Closed Centre System
 Maintains a constant supply of hydraulic pressure
 Fluid is continuously pumped around the system
 Pressure remains low until a service selection is made
 Requires off-loading valve to allow pump to unload
 Off load condition reduces engine power required
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 Light Aircraft Systems
 Light aircraft may have only one active
hydraulic circuit for the landing gear
 Uses a self-contained hydraulic power pack,
operated by a reversible DC electric motor
 Flow and pressure control valves complete the
system
 Gear is held in the retracted position by
hydraulic lock
 The pump comes on line when required to
restore system pressure
 Thermal relief valves protect against over
pressure
 Gear is mechanically locked down then power
to the pump is switched off
 If the system fails a dump valve breaks the
hydraulic lock and allows the landing gear to
lower under its own weight
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 The Hand Pump
 For maintenance or emergency back-up on some lighter aircraft types
 Pressing down on the handle draws-up the fluid and expelling it through the outlet
 A transfer valve ensures that any pressure generated is not lost back to the lower side of
the pump
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 Duct Construction
 Stainless steel for high temperature and high pressure ducts
 Light alloy for intermediate temperature pressure ducts
 Plastic or fibreglass for low temperature or pressure ducts
16 February 2021 72
Lesson 4: The Landing Gear, Wheels and Tyres
 Types of Landing Gear
 Usually categorised according to the position of the subsidiary wheels
 Some modern transport aircraft may have a small tail wheel to prevent tipping when
loading
 Others may have a small tail skid assembly to limit any damage caused by a tail strike
 The landing gear absorbs some of the shock loads on landing and transmits the
remaining loads to the wing main spar
 It also houses the braking systems necessary to slow the aircraft
 Gear Types
 Tail-wheel aircraft
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 Gear Types (cont.)
 The nose wheel arrangement allows the aircraft to be level on the ground which is much
more desirable for passengers and cargo loading
16 February 2021 74
 Retractable vs Fixed Landing
 Fixed requires few moving parts and no system to
raise and lower it
 Lighter and less prone to failure
 But a lot of drag some of which can be reduced by
fairings and spats
 Retractable gear systems use hydraulics and have
an emergency lowering capability, driven by gravity
or pressurised nitrogen
 Light Aircraft Fixed Gear
 There are three main types of fixed gear used on
light aircraft
 Cantilever spring – comprising a tube or strip of tapered
spring steel
 Rubber bungee – usually in the form of tubular struts
 Oleo pneumatic strut – a combination of air and
hydraulic fluid absorbs the shocks
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 Shock Absorption
 Nose wheel assembly not designed to take shock loads
 Some of the shock is absorbed by the tyres but 90% is absorbed by the shock absorbers
 The oleo strut uses compressed nitrogen and oil
 The gas acts as a spring to absorb the loads
 The oil acts to dampen the spring action
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 The Oleo Strut
 The rate at which the strut can compress is limited by the speed with which oil can flow
though the orifice
 Normally contains hydraulic oil (DTD 585) and nitrogen gas
 Uses gas pressure to support the aircraft’s weight and to act as a spring to absorb
landing loads
 Uses hydraulic oil to control the rate of compression and extension or recoil of the leg
through a metering device in the leg assembly
16 February 2021 77
 The Oleo Strut (cont.)
 Normally contains hydraulic oil (DTD 585) and nitrogen gas
 As part of your pre-flight check you must also ensure the inner piston which can be
identified by its shiny coating shows no signs of having bottomed out
 When the aircraft is stationary
 Gas pressure equals weight force of aircraft at that point
 Any additional load cause the oleo to compress
 Oleo extension is adjusted by adjusting gas pressure in leg
 Excessively compressed oleo might indicate either
 Low gas pressure
 Or a fluid leak
 Retraction and Extension
 An array of selector valves and sequence valves control opening and closing of the gear
doors, actuators, and up locks and down locks
 The operation requires the gear to be unlocked before extension or retraction
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 Retraction and Extension (cont.)
 The leg bracing arrangement such as the drag brace and side stays have to be folded as
the gear is operated and stowed into the landing gear bay
 This articulation of the leg assembly can be a fairly complicated process
 Up-locks
 Up-locks are a type of hook lock which requires hydraulic pressure to engage and release
them
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 Ground Locks
 Ground locks are normally fitted to the landing gear legs and doors when the aircraft is
parked to prevent inadvertent movement of the gear
 They must also be in place before an aircraft is towed
 These locks usually come in the form of a pin which fits into each landing gear leg
assembly
 Red pennants are normally fitted to the pin for conspicuity
 Some types of lock fit around the gear actuator on each leg which thus physically
prevents it from retracting
 Normally carried on board the aircraft, in a prominent position so that the crew can
check that all the locks have been removed before flight
 Control and Operation
 The gear is operated by the landing gear lever
 Inadvertent up selection of the gear is prevented by safety latches or solenoid switches
which physically prevent the handle from being moved when the aircraft has its weight
on the main wheels or proximity sensors detect that the aircraft is close to the ground
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 Control and Operation (cont.)
 Many systems have some form of override facility to allow the gear to be selected up in
an emergency situation
 On more sophisticated systems warning horns, sensitive to power lever position and flap
position, sound when the gear is not down and locked but the aircraft is otherwise
configured for landing
 Light aircraft use a simple two-position lever allowing UP and DOWN selections
 A gear indication system shows the status of each landing gear assembly, driven by
micro-switches or proximity sensors fitted to the leg assembly
 Light sequence for gear position shows the following
 Green – Gear locked down
 Red – Gear is unlocked
 No lights – Gear is in the up and locked position
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 Landing Gear Operating Speed
 Maximum airspeed limits may be given for flight, retraction and extension and flight
with the gear down
 Exceeding these speeds is likely to cause damage
 Emergency Gear Extension
 Three principal systems use for emergency gear extension
 Manual system using a hand-crank
 Compressed nitrogen to blow the gear down
 A gravity or free-fall system
 A manually operated handle releases the up-locks
 Gear descends under gravity
 The over-centre down-locks ensure that gear is locked down
 Particularly suitable for large transport aircraft
 Nose Steering – Light Aircraft

 Differential braking
 Applied to main wheels causes swing to left or right
16 February 2021 82
 Nose Steering – Light Aircraft (cont.)
 Rudder pedal steering
 Mechanical link between nose wheel and rudder bar
 Nose Steering Mechanism
 The nose wheel must be correctly aligned fore and aft before it retracts into the gear
bay
 There are two methods
 Two cams are fitted to the cylinder of the leg, the cams align and centre the nose prior to retraction –
this system is used on smaller aircraft
 Steer-to-centre switches drive an hydraulic motor to centre the wheels
 Nose Wheel Shimmy
 Uncontrolled vibration of the wheel assembly around the leg’s axis of rotation
 Caused by
 Worn or broken torque links
 Wear in the wheel bearings
 Low or uneven tyre pressures
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 Tyre Construction
 A flexible casing made of
 Rubber coated rayon, cotton or nylon ply cords
 Wrapped around beads at each edge of the tyre
 The bead is made from steel wires
 The casing plies comprise the tyre carcass
 Rubber tread is moulded to the carcass
 Tyres are normally inflated with nitrogen
 Tyre Zones
 The crown
 Holds the tread pattern and makes contact with the surface
 The shoulder
 Thins out from crown to sidewall
 The sidewall
 The weakest part and least able to cope with damage
 The bead
 Engages with the rims on the wheel to form an airtight seal
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 Types of Tyre
 Ply rating
 Indication of the tyre strength
 Higher ply rating means greater strength
 Tread
 Made from rubber
 Provides gripping surface
 The tread pattern expels
 Most common tread pattern for transport aircraft is the ribbed
 Tubeless
 No inner tube to contain the gas
 Reduces weight and allows the tyre to run cooler
 Bias (or cross-ply)
 Plies are laid in pairs
 Adjacent plies are at 90° to one another
 Radial
 Plies are laid from bead to bead
16 February 2021 85
 Types of Tyre (cont.)
 Retread
 New tread heat bonded onto old carcass
 Tube Tyres
 Use an inner tube with an inflation valve attached to it which is fed out through a hole in the wheel
 Any movement of the tyre around the wheel (tyre creep) can cause the inflation valve to shear off the
tube
 Tyre Creep
 Sudden accelerations cause tyre to slip around the wheel
 Creep is greatest just after a new tyre has been fitted
 Creep is monitored with creep marks
 Creep marks should be
 1in wide for tyres of 24in or less in diameter
 1.5in wide for tyres over 24in in diameter
 Provided there is overlap of marks amount creep within limits
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 Tyre Creep (cont.)
16 February 2021 87
 Tyre Wear
 Ribbed treads
 Minimum tread is 2mm, measured from bottom of groove
 The tyre may have a tyre wear marker bar
 Tyre is on limit when marker bar is at same height as rib
 Blocked treads
 Within limits provided that the block pattern is still visible
 Tyre Inspection
 Inspection is important
 Damage or under-inflation can lead to tyre failure or tread separation
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 Tyre Inspection (cont.)
 Inspect for
 Cuts
 Bulges
 Foreign object damage
 Contamination
 Creep
 Wear
 Pressure
 Aquaplaning
 A wedge of water builds up at the front of the tyre
 As speed increases, the tyre is lifted off the surface
 A fully aquaplaning tyre has no surface contact and may stop rotating
 Result is
 Reduced or no braking ability
 Loss of directional control
 Damage from superheated steam
16 February 2021 89
 Aquaplaning (cont.)
16 February 2021 90
 Aquaplaning Formulae
 9√P where P is the tyre pressure in psi
 34√P where P is the tyre pressure in kg/cm2
 Reducing Risk of Aquaplaning
 Ensure tyre pressures and tread wear are correct
 Use anti-skid system
 Avoid flooded runways or large patches of standing water
 Wheel Brakes
 Wheel brakes produce friction at wheel assembly to slow or stop the rotation of the
wheel
 Light aircraft use a simple single disc type brake
 Most modern transport aircraft use hydraulic power to operate the brakes
 There are two types of simple braking system
 Fixed disk – floating caliper system
 Floating disk – fixed caliper system
16 February 2021 91
 Wheel Brakes (cont.)
 Both systems work on the principle of using a caliper powered by hydraulic pressure
which clamps brake friction pads tightly to a disk connected to the main wheel
 The disk runs between the brake pads so that pressure is applied equally to both sides of
the disk
 For pressure to be applied absolutely evenly and equally to each side of the disk there
needs to be a degree of movement - either of the caliper or of the disk itself
 This permits the caliper and disk to align themselves perfectly
16 February 2021 92
 Fixed Disk System
 On a fixed disk system a floating caliper is mounted to the landing gear assembly using
pins slotted into receiving holes attached to the main gear
 The pins allow a small degree of lateral movement (‘float’) of the whole caliper assembly
as it clamps onto the disk
 The fixed disk is bolted to the wheel
16 February 2021 93
 Floating Disk System
 On a floating disk system the the brake disk is keyed to the main wheel using a slot and
groove system. It is not bolted to the wheel
 The slot and groove system allows the disk to move laterally with respect to the wheel
 The caliper is bolted to the landing gear assembly via a torque plate
16 February 2021 94
 Floating Disk System (cont.)
16 February 2021 95
 Brake Wear Indication
 The friction pads themselves are made from an ablatable material which erodes with
use
 Eventually they wear down to the point where they must be replaced
 To check the amount of wear, some light aircraft systems are equipped with brake wear
indicators
 Automatic Brake Adjuster
 Automatic brake adjusters ensure correct clearance between the rotating assemblies
when the brakes are in the off position
 The brakes should be checked for wear after every flight, with the brakes applied
 A rule or special gauge may be needed measure the gap between the disc and brake
housing
16 February 2021 96
 Brake Overheating
 Excessive heat diminishes braking efficiency resulting in a condition known as brake fade
 Overheated brakes may judder (chatter) when applied
 Pad may stick to discs further increasing brake temperature
16 February 2021 97
Lesson 5: Aircraft Fuel Systems
 Fuel System Basic Functions
 Stores fuel ready for use and supplies a constant, uninterrupted steam of filtered fuel
under pressure to the engine
 Cross-feed facility allow pilot to select which fuel tank to feed the engine(s) from
 Fuel System
 The aircraft fuel system comprises the tanks, pumps and the lines to the engine
16 February 2021 98
 Piston Engine Fuel
 Fuel should
 Have a low flash point
 Have good lubrication characteristics
 Be non corrosive
 Be usable across a wide range of temperatures
 Have good anti-knock properties
 The most common fuel is AVGAS
 AVGAS is graded according to its octane rating
 Octane rating refers to the anti-knock properties of the fuel, which describes its ability
to resist detonating in the cylinder before the spark plug has ignited it
 LL suffix denotes low lead content
 The different types of AVGAS are dyed with different colours to distinguish between
them
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 AVGAS Characteristics
 AVGAS 100LL
 Dyed blue SG of 0.72. Relatively low lead content
 AVGAS 100
 Dyed green SG 0.72.
 High lead content
 AVGAS 85UL
 No colour
 Used to power ultra light aircraft
 MOGAS Characteristics
 A few low powered engines may use MOGAS
 Generally MOGAS is completely unsuitable for most engines
 More likely to cause carburettor icing
 Increases risk of vapour lock
 Not allowed to be used for commercial aviation operations
 Diesel aero engines use aviation turbine fuel or AVTUR for short
16 February 2021 100

 Aviation Kerosene
 The two major fuel specifications are
 JET A: used in the USA – it has a freezing point of -40°C
 JET A1: used by the rest of the world and has a freezing point of -47°C
 Diesel aero engines use aviation kerosene
 This is the aviation equivalent of motor car diesel
 Aviation kerosene is also the fuel used in gas turbine engines – so it is properly named:
aviation turbine fuel (‘AVTUR’)
 Fuel Additives
 Turbine fuel have additives to reduce icing or fungal growth
 Aviation turbine fuel is prone to waxing at low temperatures. Waxing is the formation of
waxy deposits or wax crystals in the fuel
 Waxing only occurs at very low temperatures so it is unlikely to be a problem for most
light aircraft operations

 Identification of Fuel Types

 Water Content
 Aviation kerosene naturally contains water molecules so a small amount of water is an
inescapable part of this type of fuel
 Contrails created by high flying jet aircraft are caused by the water from the burnt
kerosene condensing out in the cold atmosphere
 The presence of normal water content levels in kerosene is not a safety risk
 Unlike kerosene AVGAS does not readily mix with water
 But water in an AVGAS fuel system is a serious risk to flight safety
 Liquid water usually enters the fuel system through condensation inside the fuel tanks
 Significant amounts of water can accumulate if the tanks are not full and the aircraft has
been left standing for a long time
 Significant water content is extremely dangerous and can lead to a rapid loss of power
or complete engine failure often shortly after take-off
 It is essential that any significant accumulation of water is removed from the tanks
before flight
 This is why a pre-flight fuel inspection is so important
 To avoid water accumulation in the fuel system it is advisable to fill the tanks before
parking the aircraft

 Fuel Drain Sampling
 One of the most important pre-flight checks you must do, before every flight, is to make
a physical check of the fuel in the tanks
 This is done by taking a small sample and inspecting it
 If water is present it will sink to the bottom of the sample where it will be readily visible
 Continue to take further sample from all tank drain points until no water is visible in the
samples

 Fuel Check
 When you have obtained your sample check that
 The fuel is the correct colour; e.g. AVGAS 100LL should be blue
 The sample is clean and bright, no suspended particles or other signs of contamination
 A cloudy sample also indicates that the fuel may be contaminated
 The sample contains no significant amount of water
 Fuel Samples

 Fuel System Design
 There are three main construction methods for fuel tanks
 Integral tank
 The interior structure of the wing forms the walls of the tank
 Baffles inside the tank prevent the fuel from sloshing about when the aircraft is manoeuvring
 Baffle check valves prevent fuel moving outboard towards the wing tip when the aircraft banks
 Flexible tanks
 Flexible tanks (or bag tanks or bladder tanks) are made from rubberised fabric material and are
attached to the structure using chords or buttons
 Drum Tank
 A drum tank is a rigid tank made from metal, usually aluminium
 This type of tank is used on the Cessna 172
 Most modern designs use an integral tank
 This is especially so for wings made from advanced composites because it is relatively
easy to mould a fuel tank component as part of the structure
 The disadvantage of the flexible tank is that it can be punctured, most commonly
because of constant rubbing against the aircraft structure
 The material may also become less flexible with age, increasing the risk of a puncture
 Flexible tanks also can’t make use of all the available internal space

 Usable and Unusable Fuel
 Usable and unusable fuel is dictated by the height of the draw-off pipe
 The fuel tanks in each wing are connected by common pipework but that does not mean
that the contents of the one tank can naturally transfer to another
 So fuel tanks cannot naturally equalise levels
 In light single engine aircraft fuel cannot flow or be transferred from the left to the right
tanks and vice versa
 Consequently it is very important that you fill each wing tank with an equal amount of
fuel before flight

 Fuel Feed
 The Engine Driven Pump (EDP) supplies fuel at high pressure to the engine fuel system.
 The EDP is the boundary between the aircraft fuel system and the engine fuel system
 The sump is the lowest point in the fuel system
 Additional fuel drains will be fitted here
 To protect the pump the fuel goes through a fuel filter immediately after leaving the
tank
 Fuel Tank Selector Valve Gauging
 The fuel tank selector valve allows to pilot to choose whether the left or right or both
wing fuel tanks provide fuel to the engine
 It also allows both tanks to be isolated in the event of a major emergency such as an
engine fire
 Normally the selector would be set to BOTH so that fuel is drawn equally from both
tanks
 If an imbalance starts to develop the pilot will change the selection to feed fuel only
from the heavier tank (LEFT or RIGHT)
 This is important because a significant fuel imbalance can cause serious control
problems

 Example light aircraft system

 Fuel Contents Gauging
 The most useful measure of fuel contents is fuel mass. Most modern transport aircraft
display fuel contents either in lb or kg
 The contents of fuel in each part of each tank are individually measured and then
displayed on a fuel totaliser
 Low level lights illuminate at pre determined levels set by the manufacturer
 There are two principal methods for measuring fuel contents in large aircraft: resistive
and capacitative

 Vapour Lock
 Where the fuel lines cross over structural members, there is a slight risk of vapour lock
 Vapour lock occurs when some of the gasoline converts from its liquid state to a gas
 The vapour then becomes trapped in the bend in the fuel line
 Vapour lock is most typically a problem associated with gravity fed fuel systems which
don’t have the benefit of an electric booster pump

Lesson 6: Piston Engine Principles of Operation
 Piston Engines
 Convert chemical energy contained in fuel to mechanical energy
 Fuel is burned with air in the cylinder – to release heat
 Heat is absorbed by the gas – marked increase in pressure energy
 This pressure energy is converted to mechanical energy by a piston
 Mechanical energy drives the propeller which accelerates air rearwards to produce
thrust
 For petrol engines burning is initiated by an electrically generated spark

 Principle of Operation
 Air is the working fluid of all internal combustion engines
 When mixed with fuel, it is called the mixture
 The burned gas called the products of combustion
 Gasoline fuel is mixed with air
 Mixture is introduced into a cylinder through an inlet port closed by an inlet valve
 The cylinder is sealed at the other end by a moveable, gas-tight, piston
 Crankshaft
 The role of the crankshaft is to translate the linear motion of the piston into rotary
motion
The piston and crankshaft

arrangement is analogous to a
bicycle

 Principle of Operation
 The total amount of mixture drawn in is called the charge
 Charge is ignited by an electric spark plug
 As combustion takes place the hot air attempts to expand but is confined by the
cylinder, causing increase in pressure which forces the piston down the cylinder
 The piston is connected to a crankshaft that converts linear motion into rotary motion
 The up and down motion of the piston is called reciprocal movement
 The natural momentum of the piston and crankshaft cause the piston to travel back up
the cylinder
 An exhaust valve opens to allow the products of combustion to be driven out through an
exhaust port
 The crankshaft is either connected directly to the propeller, or indirectly through a
gearbox
 The propeller accelerates air rearwards which creates an equal and opposite reaction
known as thrust
 Increased force exerted by the pistons is increased power to drive the propeller

 The Key Moving Parts
 The fuel and air are mixed together in a finely measured ratio before entering the engine
 The mixture enters the cylinder through the inlet port
 The piston fits tightly inside the cylinder to ensure that no gas escapes around its sides
 The fuel/air mixture is ignited using an electrical spark plug
 The pressure resulting from combustion drives the piston down the cylinder

 The Key Moving Parts (cont.)
 The piston is connected to the crankshaft by a connecting rod
 The connecting rod is connected to the crankshaft
 The exhaust valve opens to allow the waste gas to be driven out of the exhaust port by
the piston
 The valves are opened by push rods and a camshaft and are closed by spring pressure

 The Theoretical Four-Stroke Cycle
 Induction: the mixture is drawn into the
cylinder
 Compression: the mixture is compressed
 Power: the piston is driven down the cylinder
to produce mechanical power
 Exhaust: the waste gases are expelled
 Four Stroke Cycle or Otto Cycle
 Stroke: distance the piston travels between its
lowest and highest points
 The topmost limit is Top Dead Centre (TDC)
 The lowest limit is Bottom Dead Centre (BDC)
 Ignition occurs between the compression and
power strokes
 To move the piston through one stroke, the
crankshaft must rotate 180°

The Induction Stroke The Compression Stroke
An engine that uses the piston to draw in At TDC the fuel is ignited by the spark plug
mixture is called a normally aspirated engine

 Combustion
 Takes place between the compression and power strokes
 The mixture is ignited by an electrically generated spark
 In theory combustion occurs instantaneously whilst the piston is at TDC
 In theory there is no change in volume during combustion
 This is why piston engines are sometimes known as constant volume engines
 Combustion in a confined space produces a very large increase in pressure and
temperature

The Power Stroke The Exhaust Stroke
This is the only stroke in the four stroke cycle The exhaust valve opens at BDC
when power is produced The products of combustion are expelled
The average pressure exerted on the piston is through the exhaust port
called the Mean Effective Pressure (MEP)

 The Complete 4-Stroke Cycle
 There are two number of Revolutions in the Four Stroke Cycle

 Work on the Air
 Power can be increased by drawing in more air or by increasing the pressure
 There are two adiabatic processes of compression and expansion (change in pressure
with no heat energy added or removed)
 And two isochoric processes (change in pressure with no change in volume)
Adiabatic Processes of Theoretical Four Stroke Cycle

 The Ineffective Crank Angle
 The theoretical four stroke cycle is very inefficient because air has mass and therefore
possesses inertia and momentum
 Close to TDC and BDC there is very little linear movement of the piston even though the
angular rotation speed of the crankshaft remains unchanged: the ineffective crank angle

 The Practical Four Stroke Cycle
 The theoretical cycle assumes that the combustion process is instantaneous but it’s not
 The practical four stroke cycle uses ineffective crank angle and finite combustion time to
maximise efficiency
 Alters the position at which the inlet and exhaust valves open and close, and point of
ignition
 Valve timing
 Ignition timing
 Valve Timing
 At the end of the exhaust stroke but before the piston reaches TDC, the inlet valve
opens
 Fresh mixture enters the cylinder before the start of the induction stroke
 Valve lead
 Inlet valve stays open even during the ineffective crank angle
 But gas continues to flow under its own momentum
 Inlet valve remains open beyond BDC during the start of the compression stroke
 Valve lag

 Valve Timing (cont.)
 Inlet valve lead and lag maximise the amount of mixture that enters the cylinder
 Valve lead and lag is measured in degrees of crankshaft rotation
 When both the inlet valve and the exhaust valves are closed the mixture is compressed
 Valve Lag

 Valve Timing (cont.)
 Both valves are closed at the start of the power stroke
 Most of the work on the power stroke is done before the piston reaches BDC
 So the exhaust valve opens before the end of the power stroke
 Exhaust valve lead
 Longer period available to clear the cylinder of waste gas helped by residual pressure
 The exhaust valve remains open until slightly after TDC
 Exhaust valve lag
 Remaining exhaust gas exits under its own momentum
 Valve overlap: when both inlet and exhaust valves are open
 During overlap the exiting exhaust gas helps to draw in the fresh mixture - scavenging
 Lead and lag give longer period for valve operation
 Valve timing dictated by the shape of the cams on the camshaft
 Cam profile can’t be changed so valve timing doesn’t change with RPM

 Ignition Timing
 Finite time for the mixture to combust
 Ignition is timed to occur just before TDC on the compression stroke
 Combustion is completed, and maximum pressure produced, just as the piston leaves
the period of ineffective crank angle on the power stroke – about 6-12° after TDC
 Increases peak pressure and maximises the power generated
 Ignition has been advanced
 Rate of combustion is relatively constant but piston speed isn’t
 At high RPM piston is moving so rapidly that most of the power stroke would be
complete before peak pressure achieved
 So ignition is further advanced as the RPM increases
 As RPM reduces, the ignition must be retarded
 During start ignition is usually retarded to around TDC

 Ignition Timing (cont.)

Lesson 7: Piston Engine Designs and Components
 Multi Cylinder Engines
 Engine power is determined by the mass of mixture ignited in the cylinder
 More mass, more power
 Number and size of cylinders can be increased to increase mass
 Multiple cylinders produce smoother power delivery
 Four stroke aero engines normally have at least four cylinders
 Each cylinder is on a different stroke
 A power stroke is occurring at all times
 A complete Otto cycle takes two revolutions of the crankshaft (720°)
 The firing interval is found by dividing 720° by the number of cylinders
 Classification of Engines
 Engines can be classified by
 Number of cylinders
 Cylinder arrangement
 Method of cooling
 Type of fuel and air induction system
 Propeller drive arrangement

 Radial and Rotary Engines
 Rotary engines: fixed crankshaft - rotating cylinders
 Obsolete design
 Radial engines: fixed cylinders rotating crankshaft
 Require an odd number of cylinders
 More can be added using multiple banks

 Radial Engines – Disadvantages
 When stationary oil can pool in those cylinders which are inverted
 Can cause excessive pressure in the affected cylinder – hydraulicing
 In extreme cases this can cause the entire cylinder head to separate from the engine!
 In-Line Engines
 Reduced frontal area but more difficult to cool
 Hence usually limited to six cylinders
 Often inverted

 The ‘V’ Engine
 Two in-line engines set at an angle to each other with a single crankshaft
 Increased number of cylinders for the same length
 V6 arrangement uses two ‘banks” of cylinders linked to a common crankshaft

 Horizontally Opposed Engine
 The most common arrangement
 Short, rigid and usually air cooled

 Horizontally Opposed Engine (cont.)

 Major Components of a Spark Ignition Engine
 The cylinder has a barrel and a head
 Bolted together with a gasket to give a gas tight seal
 The barrel is usually made of steel and the head of alloy
 Air cooled engines have fins on the barrel and head to help to disperse heat
 Liquid cooled engines have internal galleries for their cooling liquid

 Spark Plugs
 Aero-engines have two spark plugs per cylinder
 In-built redundancy increases safety
 Smoother, quicker, more efficient combustion
 Centre electrode with two electrodes attached to the body of the plug
 If the gap between them is blocked the plug is said to be “fouled”

 Spark Plug Mounting

 Pistons
 Aluminium alloy pistons fit tightly in the cylinder
 The top of the piston has shaped crown to optimise
combustion conditions
 The piston skirt is tapered slightly to allow for thermal
expansion
 Compression rings around skirt prevent gas leakage
 Made from centrifugally spun cast iron
 Carbon in the cast iron makes the rings self lubricating
and naturally springy
 Oil control rings around the skirt spread oil evenly over
the cylinder
 An oil scraper ring around the skirt draws excess oil
back into the crankcase
 The piston is connected to the crankshaft by a
connecting rod
 A hinged gudgeon pin connects the rod to the piston at
the small end
 The rod is attached to the crank pin of the crankshaft
at the big end
 The connecting rod is usually H shaped for extra
strength
 The Crankshaft
 Lies between the two halves of the crankcase and is supported in bearing journals
 Must be very strong – made from heavy steel alloys
 Crank throw: distance between the centre of the crankshaft journal and the centre of
the crank pin
 The amount determines the distance the piston moves up and down in its cylinder
 In one revolution the piston moves twice the distance of the crank throw
 This distance is known as the stroke

 The Crankshaft (cont.)
 Smaller stroke reduces weight. Aircraft engines tend to be short stroked
 Counterweights counteract the unbalancing effect of the piston and connecting rod
 The crankshaft is designed for a particular cylinder firing order, typically 1,3,4,2
 Alternating the firing order reduces the stresses on the crankshaft
 The crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons are collectively known as the crank
assembly
 The Camshaft
 Driven through gears by the crankshaft
 Always rotates at half the speed of the crankshaft
 Operates the valves via the push rods

 The Crankcase
 Is the main structural element of the engine
 Two halves are cast from a light, strong alloy such as magnesium
 Crankshaft and camshaft are mounted in the crankcase and are supported by bearings
 Internal passages allow lubricating oil to flow to the bearings
 In some cases the crankcase also serves as the oil reservoir
 A crankcase breather pipe vents excess internal air pressure to atmosphere
 The crankcase provides mounting points
 For the cylinders
 For the engine itself, to attach it to the airframe
 For an accessory gearbox
 Fuel, oil, ignition, hydraulic and pneumatic systems are driven from the accessory
gearbox
 The engine starter motor is sometimes also fitted to the gearbox

 The Crankcase (cont.)

 Valves
 The inlet and exhaust valves are poppet valves mounted in the cylinder head
 Close under spring pressure and are opened by the camshaft via the valve operating gear
 The inlet valve is normally larger than the exhaust valve
 Made from a special steel alloy to withstand the stresses
 The valve seat is carefully machined to ensure a gas tight seal at the port
 To assist cooling, the exhaust valve is hollowed and partially filled with sodium
 The sodium melts and flows up and down the stem transferring heat from the face to
the stem
 Springs are located around the valve stem
 Two springs for redundancy
 Wound in different directions to eliminate tendency of the valve to rotate on its seat

 Valve Gear
 A hinged lever, rocker arm forces the valve down, against spring pressure, to open the
port
 When the rocker arm moves up, spring pressure returns the valve to its seat
 The rocker arm is operated by a push rod that rests on a camshaft
 The profile of the cams on the camshaft ensures that the valves open and close at the
right time
 A tappet between the push rod and rocker arm allows the tappet clearance to be
adjusted
 When the valve is fully closed there’s a small gap between the top of the valve stem and the rocker
pad
 This tappet clearance allows for thermal expansion
 Valve Gear Mounting

 Valve Gear (cont.)
 The correct tappet clearance ensures that the
valves close completely at all operating
temperatures
 An excessively large clearance prevents the
valve from opening fully
 An excessively small clearance prevents the
valve from closing properly at high
temperatures
 Incorrect tappet clearance can cause a
significant reduction in performance
 Oil powered hydraulic tappets automatically
adjust themselves to cater for thermal
expansion

 Valve Gear (cont.)

 Overhead Cam

Lesson 8: Piston Engine Lubrication and Cooling
 Engine Lubrication Systems
 The moving parts in an engine must be lubricated with oil to reduce friction and wear
 Oil clings to metal surfaces
 A central layer of molecules moves effortlessly in an oil ‘sandwich’
 Engine oil has a number of secondary functions
 Cooling – Absorbs heat and disperses it to atmosphere
 Cleaning – Removes carbon deposits and metal flakes, which are then trapped by a filter
 Protection – Protects the components from corrosion
 Hydraulic operations – Operates valve gear and variable pitch propellers
 Oil temperature and pressure are important indicators of engine health
 Aero Engine Oil
 Viscosity reduces with increased temperature
 Normally is a mineral oil
 Aero engine oil must
 Maintain suitable viscosity over a wide range of temperatures and pressures
 Have a low evaporation rate

 Aero engine oil must (cont.)
 Inhibit corrosion
 Not react with the materials with which it comes into contact
 Discourages the formation of sludge
 To meet these requirements, additives are used to form a compound oil
 Identified by prefix, e.g: W80 or AD100
 Straight oil has no additives and is used on new engines to reduce the running-in time
 Some engines use modern synthetic multigrade oils
 Produced from chemical compounds which don’t occur in crude oil
 Eventually irreversible damage is caused by oxidisation, the corrosive by-products of
combustion, water vapour and mechanical shearing stresses
 Change oil according to the schedule laid down by the engine manufacturer
 Some oil is normally lost through burning
 The level must be checked regularly to ensure that oil consumption isn’t excessive
 Abnormal or excessive oil burning indicated by blue or grey smoke in the exhaust

 Types of Lubrication System
 Engines can have dry or wet sump systems
 In a dry sump system, oil is held in a tank mounted remotely from the engine
 In a wet sump system, the oil is held in the bottom of the crankcase; the sump
 The Dry Sump System
 Oil is drawn from the tank by an engine driven pump
 A suction filter is fitted just before the pump
 The pump forces oil through a second, high-pressure, filter to jets and drillings at the
bearings
 The pump provides considerably more oil pressure than is normally necessary
 So sufficient pressure is guaranteed even under extreme conditions
 A pressure relief valve regulates the system pressure
 Highly loaded points (big end bearings) are fed with high pressure oil at about 4-5 bar
(60-70psi)
 The oil is injected at the crankshaft main bearings and passes into a gallery inside the
crankshaft to emerge at the big end bearings
 As it leaves the big end bearings some of the oil is flung onto the cylinder walls

 The Dry Sump System (cont.)
 Lightly loaded components are fed with low-pressure oil via a pressure-reducing valve
 Spent oil falls to the sump where it is collected by a scavenge pump
 This pumps the oil back to the oil tank via an oil cooler
 The scavenge pump is more powerful than the high-pressure pump to ensure that oil
doesn’t pool in the sump

 Oil Tank
 Contains a reserve of oil to allow for fluctuations, thermal expansion, leaks and frothing
 Oil arrives via an oil return line (scavenge line) and spills onto a de-aerator plate
 The de-aerated oil drops into the tank
 Baffles prevent the oil from slopping during manoeuvres
 During starting, when the oil is cold and viscous, oil is drawn first from the hot well
 The hot well tends to refill first
 This quickly establishes a good circulation during start
 Oil System Components
 Coarse filters
 Fitted before the pressure and scavenge pumps (suction and scavenge filters)
 The filters protect the pumps from damage
 Magnetic Plugs (chip detectors)
 Fitted in the oil return lines
 Ferrous particles from the engine or gearbox are caught by the magnets

 Oil System Components (cont.)
 Oil Pump (Engine Driven Pump)
 Normally spur gear type
 Scavenge pump has twice the capacity of the pressure pump
 Low oil pressure at high RPM, may indicate a worn oil pressure pump
 Pressure Relief Valve
 Fitted in parallel to the pump to regulate its output pressure
 Pressure Filter
 A fine filter to remove very small particles
 A bypass valve opens if the filter becomes blocked
 Air Cooled Oil Cooling
 An oil cooler is fitted in the scavenge line between the scavenge pump and the oil tank
 Manually operated shutters control the amount of air passing over the oil cooler
 Excessive cooling can cause oil coring in which the oil tends to congeal in the matrix and
block it
 In a dry sump system the oil cooler is fitted in the return line
 In a wet sump system the cooler is normally fitted in the pressure supply to the engine

 Gauges
 Oil temperature gauge in the supply line after the cooler and before the pressure pump
 Oil Pressure Gauge at the outlet of the pressure pump
 Oil pressure should begin to indicate within 30 seconds of engine starting

 The Wet Sump System
 Uses the same components as the dry sump system, but no scavenge pump or oil tank
 Pressurised oil feeds to bearings and splash lubrication
 Wet and Dry Sump Systems

 Dry sump system
 Separate oil tank ensures a supply of filtered and cooled oil to the pump under all flight conditions
 Oil Level checked immediately after the engine is shut down
 Wet sump system
 May require a greater quantity of oil to ensure an adequate supply to the pump
 Oil Level check about 20 minutes after shut down

 Hydraulicing
 Oil leaking into the engine cylinders
 Occurs in the inverted cylinders
 Can cause severe damage
 Manually turn engine before start
 Engine Cooling Systems

 Piston engines can either be air or liquid cooled
 Liquid cooling runs a mixture of water and glycol
through galleries built into the crank case and
cylinder block
 The hot fluid is then piped through radiators

 Engine Cooling Systems
 Liquid Cooling Systems – Radiator
 Air Cooled Engines

 Aero-engines are usually air-cooled to save
weight
 An air inlet directs air over the engine
 Deep fins on the cylinders increase the external
surface area
 Cylinder baffles control the flow of air

 Temperature Measurement
 The highest temperatures occur around the cylinder head
 CHT indicates engine health
 CHT sensors may be fitted to all the cylinders
 Measured by a thermocouple which requires no electrical supply
 Temperature Control
 During normal operation, CHT is affected by
 The amount of power being produced
 The aircraft’s speed
 The temperature of the cooling air
 The ratio of the mixture
 The engine is most likely to overheat at low speed and high power, e.g. the climb
 Over cooling can result in thermal shock which can cause cylinders to crack
 Most likely to occur at high speed and lower power settings
 Automatic or manually operated cowl flaps regulate the flow of cooling air to the engine
 Opened for a full power climb and closed for a low power descent

Lesson 9: Piston Engine Starting and Ignition
 Starting and Ignition Systems
 An electric starter motor is powered by the battery
 Drives the engine via a gearbox or a toothed gear on the flywheel
 An overrun clutch disengages the drive from the motor
 An amber starter warning lamp illuminates whilst the drive gear is engaged
 If on for more than 30 seconds after start the motor may have failed to disengage
 The engine must be shut down
 Engine rotation drives magnetos which deliver high tension electricity to the spark plugs
 A separate belt driven alternator supplies power to the aircraft’s electrical system

 Starting and Ignition Systems (cont.)
 The starter motor drive gear is covered by a protective housing (red)
 When energised the drive gear engages with the starter ring which is itself directly
connected to the crankshaft

 Ignition System
 Must provide sparks at precisely the right moment in the cycle to ignite the mixture
 Critical components are duplicated for redundancy
 Aero engines use engine-driven magnetos
 Most light aircraft aero engines have two magnetos
 Each magneto powers a pair of spark plugs on each side
 If either magneto fails each cylinder will have at least one working spark plug

 Continental IO550

 Principle of Magneto Operation
 Engine driven and independent of the aircraft
battery and electrical system
 Current is caused to flow in a coil of wire when it is
passed between the poles of a magnet
 A 4-pole rotating permanent magnet is surrounded by
a U-shaped stator made of soft iron
 A primary winding (the low tension circuit) is
wound round the stator and comprises a few
turns of thick wire
 A secondary winding (high tension circuit) is then
wound over it and contains many turns of fine
wire
 This acts as a step-up transformer
 Any electrical flow in the primary winding
induces a higher voltage in the secondary
winding
 The primary winding is continuously broken and
remade by a contact breaker

 Principle of Magneto Operation (cont.)
 It converts the continuous flow of alternating
current into a series of pulses
 The collapse of its magnetic field produces a
surge of energy in the secondary winding
 Produces high voltage, low current pulses fed to
a distributor and then through High Tension (HT)
leads to the spark plugs
 The HT leads and sometimes the spark plugs are
screened to reduce electrical interference
 The collapsing magnetic field induces strong
current in the primary circuit
 Can cause damaging arcing at the contact breaker
points
 A capacitor or condenser is fitted in parallel with the
contact breaker to prevent arcing
 The distributor distributes the electrical pulses to
each spark plug in the appropriate sequence

 Principle of Magneto Operation (cont.)
 Comprises a rotor arm driven by the engine and a
distribution block
 HT current from the magneto is fed to the rotor
and passes to each spark plug in turn
 The HT voltage creates a powerful spark at the
plug’s electrodes
 Additional Advantage of Two Spark Plugs
 Helps to accelerate the combustion process
because the flame front spreads out from both
plugs simultaneously
 Quicker rise to peak cylinder pressure and noticeable
increase in power
 This is why engine RPM drop slightly when a magneto
is switched off

 Magneto Checks
 Ignition system is duplicated so both halves of the circuit must be checked
 Check comprises the mag drop check and the dead cut check
 The mag drop check is carried out twice
 First: just after start at about 1000-1200 RPM
 Each magneto is switched off in turn
 The RPM should drop but the engine should continue to run smoothly
 Proves the operation of the switches and confirms that one magneto is enough
 Second: at about 75% of max RPM
 Each magneto is switched off in turn
 RPM drop must be within limits
 Success indicates that if one fails, power would not be significantly affected
 A complete dead cut indicates a failure of one half of the ignition circuit
 No drop in RPM indicates one half of the ignition system is not being earthed
 Excessive RPM drop and rough running indicates an ignition problem
 A 300-400 RPM drop or rough running indicates a malfunctioning spark plug
 Dead cut check before shut-down to confirm the system isn’t live

 The Need for Pressurised Magnetos
 To reduce the possibility of internal arcing at altitude
 Auxiliary Spark Augmentation
 Magnetos pressurised to reduce possibility of internal arcing at altitude
 Magneto’s output voltage is directly proportional to engine RPM
 During start (at low RPM) the system needs some help
 Impulse Magneto
 A spring-loaded clutch is mounted between the drive spindle from the engine and the
magneto shaft
 As the engine begins to rotate the drive spindle winds up the clutch
 When the clutch releases the spring unwinds rapidly which rapidly spins the magneto
 Occurs once every half revolution of the engine
 After start centrifugal force prevents the coupling from operating

 High Tension Booster Coil
 Common on larger engines
 Induces a large current in a secondary winding by collapsing the magnetic field
surrounding the primary winding
 Powered by the aircraft battery
 Uses a trembler interrupter
 This voltage fed to a trailing brush on the distributor rotor arm
 Also known as the shower of sparks ignition system
 Coil is switched off after start
 Low Tension Booster Coil
 LT booster coil uses aircraft battery power to increase the output from the magneto
 Boosted battery power is fed directly to the primary winding of the magneto
 Contact breakers in the coil circuit ensure a sufficiently retarded spark
 Coil is switched off once the engine has started

 Spark Plugs
 HT leads from the distributor supply each spark plug with about 30 000 volts at low
current
 Plug comprises two electrodes separated by a small air gap
 The main body is earthed
 When HT voltage is applied to the centre electrode a strong spark is generated
 Gap size must be accurately set before the plug is installed
 Too small – weak spark
 Too large – no spark
 Oil, carbon or lead deposits can cause plug fouling
 Fouling is more likely if you use a plug with the wrong temperature specification

Lesson 10: Piston Engine Fuel Systems
 Characteristics of AVGAS
 Fuel must
 Contain a significant quantity of energy
 Be able to form a vapour
 Burn quickly but controllably
 Calorific value: the amount of heat obtained for a given mass of fuel
 AVGAS burns at about 18-24m/s (60-80ft per second)
 Produces the predictable and uniform rise in pressure
 Detonation
 Abnormally the mixture may detonate
 Causes rapid, violent and uneven rise in pressure in the cylinder
 Flame rate is 300m/s (1000ft per second)
 Can be heard as a knocking sound
 Energy produced by detonation is given up mostly as heat and shock
 Drop in power and rise in temperature
 Prolonged detonation causes severe damage to engine

 Detonation (cont.)
 Four causes
 Fuel with poor anti-knock qualities
 Excessively weak mixture
 Anything that causes excessive rise in cylinder temperature or pressure
 Detonation occurs after ignition
 Pre-Ignition
 Ignition of the mixture before the spark plug has fired
 Primary cause is excessively weak mixture
 Usually worsens with increased RPM whereas detonation usually reduces as RPM
increase
 Engine continues to run for a short period after the ignition has been turned off: running
on

 Pre-Ignition (cont.)

 Controlling Detonation
 AVGAS has good anti-knock qualities
 Fuel is assigned an anti-knock value
 Indicates the percentages of iso-octane and heptane used
 The higher the octane rating or grade of a fuel, the higher its resistance to detonation
 AVGAS a two-figure octane rating to describe anti-knock properties for weak and rich
mixtures
 Normally rated at 100/130 or 115/145
 Octane numbers above 100 are called performance numbers
 The most effective additive for controlling detonation is lead which is still used in AVGAS
 100LL is dyed blue
 Some older piston engines were designed to run originally on 80/87, this fuel is dyed red
 Carburettor heat at high power settings, overheated cylinders, and high power settings
at low RPM all increase the risk of detonation
 High compression ratios or supercharged engines require a fuel with exceptionally good
anti-knock qualities
 You may use a fuel with a higher rating temporarily but never use one with a lower
rating/grade

 Mixture Ratios
 Complete combustion occurs at a ratio of 15:1 by mass
 Known as the chemically correct mixture or the ideal ratio or the stoichiometric mixture
 Products of stoichiometric combustion are CO2 and water vapour and heated nitrogen gas
 Can’t be used for normal operations because its results in a high combustion temperature
 Mixture is set about 10% richer to cool the charge below the detonation value
 Not all cylinders receive exactly the same mixture so 15% rich is used at normal cruising
power
 At high power mixture is enriched to about 20%
 At take-off the mixture may be as much as 30% rich

 Weak Mixture
 A weak mixture produces higher engine temperatures because the slower burn
gives more time for heat to be transferred to the body of the engine
 A lean mixture gives increased cylinder but reduced exhaust gas temperature
 The slower burn gives reduced power but reduced fuel consumption
 20% gives best specific fuel consumption
 Mixture has to be enriched at idle because of reduced scavenging effect
 Prolonged ground running at idle can cause spark plug fouling
 To prevent this, run at about 1000-1200RPM
 Engine Fuel Supply
 The amount of air delivered to the engine is controlled by the throttle
 But it must have the right amount of well atomised fuel added to it
 This is done by the carburettor or the fuel injection system

 Engine Fuel Supply (cont.)

 The Basic Float Carburettor
 Filtered fuel is pumped into a chamber whose level is controlled by a float valve
 Fuel flows from chamber though a U-tube to the throat or choke
 When engine is stopped fuel levels in the chamber and the U-tube are the same
 When the engine is running fuel is drawn up the U-tube and into the throat

 Basic Carburettor – Engine Running
 When the engine is running fuel is drawn up the U-tube and into the throat

 The Basic Float Carburettor
 The nozzle atomises the fuel
 The jet regulates the amount of fuel flowing up the U-tube
 As airflow through the throat increases the throat draws more fuel through the nozzle
so the mixture is naturally regulated at all power settings
 The butterfly valve controls the amount of air passing through the throat
 The fuel is pumped under pressure to the carburettor to prevent vapour lock
 Additional Fuel Metering
 The system described so far is not sufficient
 It takes no account of air density
 It would result in a progressively richer mixture as engine speed and/or altitude increases
 Ram-air effect in the inlet would weaken the mixture with increased airspeed
 No provision for special mixture settings required at very low and very high power settings

 The Pressure Balance Duct
 Ram effect increases the pressure in the throat causing a drop in the fuel flow
 A pressure balance duct connects the intake and the float chamber
 Equalises the pressure in the intake and float chamber

 The Diffuser
 Non linear relationship between throat airflow and fuel flow
 Higher airflow speeds result in too much fuel being drawn through
 A diffuser reduces the pressure at the nozzle so reducing the fuel flow at high air flow
speeds

 Mixture Control
 Air density decreases hence richer mixture as the aircraft climbs
 A manual or automatic mixture control valve compensates for this effect
 Mixture control valves adjust the fuel flow – not the air flow
 Automatic systems have a manual override
 Manual mixture control levers are red
 Also used to set leaner mixture for economy

 Slow Running Jet
 Caters for low power conditions
 Placed just at the edge of the almost closed butterfly
 Provides a rich mixture at idle
 A cut-off valve ensures fuel flow to the engine ceases when shut down

 Power Enrichment
 Power enrichment provides a richer mixture at high power to cool the cylinders
 A second jet is brought into play by a cam linked to the throttle

 The Accelerator Pump
 Caters for the slight delay during a rapid power increase before reduced pressure in the
throat causes more fuel to be added to the mixture
 When the throttle lever is moved rapidly the accelerator pump injects fuel directly into
the venturi

 Induction and Carburettor Icing
 The carburettor throat produces a drop in temperature because of the reduction in
pressure and the evaporation of fuel
 Can drop by as much as 25˚C
 At moderate or high levels of humidity, ice will form in the throat
 Causes stuck throttle and/or reduction in power

 Carburettor Icing Conditions
 Mainly dependent on humidity, ambient temperature and throttle position
 If RH is more than 60%, icing may be expected in virtually all flight conditions
 At 18˚ to 25˚C and a relative humidity of only 30%, serious carburettor icing is likely if the throttle is
closed for prolonged periods
 Symptoms of Carburettor Icing
 Loss of RPM
 Reduced Performance
 Reduced inlet manifold pressure
 Decreased Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT)
 Rough running
 Jammed throttle
 Engine stops
 First Signs
 Fixed pitch propeller
 Unexplained drop in RPM
 Variable pitch propeller
 Drop in manifold air pressure
16 February 2021 The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to 187
Copyright © Slate-Ed Ltd - All rights reserved become saturated with water vapor. When further cooled, the
airborne water vapor will condense to form liquid water (dew).
 Carburettor Intake Heating
 An alternative (unfiltered) air source using hot air from a heat exchanger wrapped
around the exhaust system
 Carburettor Heat Disadvantages
 It reduces engine power
 May raise the temperature of air in
the venturi to the optimum
temperature for icing to occur!
 May cause further problems as the ice
breaks off and is ingested by the
engine
 Can cause detonation
 Enriches the mixture
 Check for temporary drop in RPM
when carburettor heat is selected on

 Fuel Injection
 Provides even and reliable fuel delivery and quicker throttle response
 Doesn’t need to use a venturi in the air intake so intake icing less likely
 Two types
 Indirect – Delivers fuel to the inlets, usually just before the inlet valve
 Direct – Injects directly into the cylinders (this requires precise timing)
 Indirect system is simpler and cheaper because there’s no need for a complex timing
system

 Indirect Fuel Injection
 The metering valve is controlled by the throttle
which also controls the throttle butterfly
 When the butterfly opens, so also does the
metering valve to allow more fuel to flow
 The mixture control valve is the only means of
adjusting the ratio of fuel to air
 Comprises
 An Engine Driven Pump (EDP)
 An electrically driven pump
 Injectors which adjust the fuel flow according to
throttle position and mixture setting
 A manifold valve which distributes fuel from the
injector to the fuel nozzles
 Fuel nozzles which spray finely atomised fuel into
the inlets of each cylinder

 Indirect Fuel Injection (cont.)
 The manifold valve
 Divides the metered fuel between all the cylinders
 Stops fuel flow when the mixture control is set to Idle Cut Off
 Fuel fed through stainless-steel injector lines
 The injector nozzle has a calibrated orifice in its upper chamber which controls the
amount of fuel injected
 The lower portion of the nozzle is used as a mixing chamber
 Fuel injection systems measure fuel pressure at the outlet of the fuel manifold to
estimate fuel flow
 Powerful engines and diesel engines use direct fuel injection
 Engine Priming Systems
 Very rich mixture is needed on start
 Carburettor engines use either
 A manually operated plunger which forces down the float thus flooding the carburettor
 The throttle is exercised to activate the accelerator pump
 A manually or electrically operated priming pump

 Engine Priming Systems (cont.)
 Manual priming pumps are usually plunger type
 Must be locked off after use
 Injector systems automatically supply fuel as soon as the booster pump is switched on
 Excess priming fuel can cause a fire in the engine intake or wash oil off the sides of the
cylinders
 The Engine Air Induction System
 Air is drawn through an intake air filter
 Air intakes are susceptible to impact icing - same symptoms as carb icing but carb heat
can’t clear intake icing
 Fuel injected engines have an alternate air source which also bypasses the intake air
filter
 Fuel injection systems will not show a drop in RPM when alternate air is selected
 The EGT Gauge
 Is used on some engines
 Is used as a method for accurately adjusting the mixture ratio in cruise flight

 The EGT Gauge (cont.)
 Is used on some engines
 Is used as a method for accurately adjusting the mixture ratio in cruise flight
 Peak EGT coincides with the stoichiometric fuel ratio of 15:1
 Two cruise power settings can be set with the help of EGT
 Power cruise (12:1)
 Lean to achieve peak EGT and then enriching until the EGT drops slightly
 This gives the ideal power cruise ratio of 12:1
 Economy cruise (17:1)
 Lean to achieve peak EGT then leaning more until the EGT is seen to drop slightly
 Aircraft performance manuals specify the actual temperature drop required for each
cruise setting
 Technique only applies to mixture settings at cruise power levels
 Excessive leaning at higher power setting leads to detonation

 Achieving Power Cruise
 Aircraft performance manuals specify the actual temperature drop required for each
cruise setting
 Technique only applies to mixture settings at cruise power levels
 Excessive leaning at higher power setting leads to detonation
 Achieving Economy Cruise

Lesson 11: The Diesel Engine
 Diesel Engines
 Use the heat generated during the compression stroke to ignite the charge
 Known as compression ignition engines
 Always use direct fuel injection
 Operate at much higher compression ratios
 Between 14:1 to 28:1 compared to about 9:1 for a petrol engine
 This increases the power output and thermal efficiency
 Modern Diesel Engine

 Diesel Fuel
 Kerosene (Jet A1)
 Specific gravity of about 0.8 to 0.9
 It is less volatile and has a higher flash point than AVGAS
 Is a poor lubricant and so requires a specially designed fuel pump
 Advantages and Disadvantages
 The higher operating pressures requires stronger, heavier design
 They are inherently more fuel efficient than gasoline engines
 Require less scheduled maintenance
 Ideally suited to turbocharging
 Without an ignition system they are simpler and more reliable
 Kerosene is safer and cheaper than AVGAS

 Induction
 Air (not mixture) is drawn into the cylinder
 Compression
 The air is compressed
 At TDC, a precisely metered quantity of fuel is injected into the cylinder
 It immediately ignites
 Power
 At the point of ignition, the charge is very much more compressed and contained in a
much smaller volume hence more pressure generated
 No risk of detonation so diesels operate much leaner
 No mixture control lever required
 Power output is controlled by the amount of fuel injected into the cylinder
 Exhaust
 As per a petrol engine

 Diesel Fuel Injection Systems
 Must cope with the very high pressures
experienced in the cylinder
 Injectors must operate at anything up to 1600
bar (24 000psi)
 Two types of injection system
 Direct Injection – High pressure fuel is fed
directly to each injector
 Common Rail – A high pressure pump supplies
fuel to a common rail from where fuel is
distributed to each injector
 Most modern diesel designs use the
common rail system because it gives more
efficient combustion, cleaner emissions and
quieter operation

 Direct Fuel Injection Systems (cont.)
 Comprises an engine driven high pressure pump and an injector for each cylinder
 The pump must
 Sense RPM and air density
 Adjust the timing of the fuel pulse
 Rapidly generate fuel pulses in the appropriate sequence for each injector

 Injectors
 Incorporate a mechanically operated spring loaded poppet valve which opens when fuel
pressure exceeds spring force
 Common Rail System
 The common rail system has
 A high pressure pump with a pressure regulator and metering valve
 A common rail acting as an accumulator for high pressure fuel
 Electromagnetically operated injectors
 An engine control unit (ECU) control fuel pressure and the injectors
 The high pressure pump supplies a constant output of high pressure fuel to the common
rail
 Excess fuel from the rail is returned via a cooler to the aircraft fuel system
 The injectors are electrically controlled
 Generating high pressure fuel and delivering metered quantities are now separate
functions so the pump design is simpler

 The Common Rail System (cont.)

 Glow Plugs
 Increase the temperature in the combustion chamber before start
 The sheathed glow plug contains an electrically heated coil encased in a sheath filled
with magnesium oxide powder
 The ceramic glow plug comprises a special heating element with a very high melting
point encased in silicon nitrite
 This type is more heat resistant and longer-lasting
 Powered from the battery
 A cockpit warning light indicates their operation

 Power to Weight Ratio
 The aircraft diesel engine has a lower power to weight ratio
 Diesel Engine Cooling Systems
 Diesel engines use a liquid cooling system
 Mixture of water and antifreeze
 An air-cooled heat exchanger disperses the heat energy absorbed the coolant

Lesson 12: Piston Engine Power, Efficiency and Control
 Engine Power
 The power of an engine of a given size is
dictated by
 The mass of charge
 The number of times per second that the charge is
put into the cylinders
 Calculating Power
 Power is the rate of doing work and is shown by
the formula
 Power = Force x Distance / Time
 The force is the pressure ‘P’ (the mean
equivalent power) in the cylinder during the
power stroke acting on the area ‘A’ of the piston
crown
 The distance the piston moves is the length of
stroke ‘L’

 Calculating Power
 Distance over time is speed (RPM)
 On a single piston engine, only one power stroke is produced for every two revolutions
of the crankshaft
 RPM must be divided by 2 to give the effective number of power strokes ‘E’
 For multiple cylinders an additional factor ‘N’ for the number of cylinders must be applied
 A mnemonic to help remember the five factors is PLANE
 The pressure ‘P’ depends on Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP)
 For a fixed pitch propeller, rotational speed ‘E’ changes as the throttle is moved
 In variable pitch propeller systems, RPM and ‘E’ are no longer solely controlled by the
throttle
 In this case power is determined jointly by the throttle and the propeller control lever
 Some power is used to overcome internal friction
 The remainder is delivered to the propeller shaft
 Fixed pitch: RPM is approximately equal to the power being produced
 Variable pitch: powered is measured by MAP and RPM

 Calculating Power (cont.)
 Larger aircraft have torque gauges
 Torque is produced when a force is applied at a
distance to a turning point
 The force comes from the pressure ‘P’ acting on the
area ‘A’ of the piston
 The distance from the turning point is the throw of
the crank shown as ‘d’ which equates to half the
length of the stroke ‘L’
 This means that the PLA of the PLANE formula can be
replaced by torque
 ‘N’ represents the number of cylinders, leaving the
last factor ‘E’ which is proportional to RPM
 So, engine power can be expressed as Torque x RPM
 Torque x RPM = Power
 Torque is measured at the gearbox between the
engine and the propeller

 Mechanical and Thermal Efficiency
 Mechanical efficiency is the ratio of the actual power produced at the propeller shaft to
the theoretical power
 Never more than about 80%
 The greatest losses occur because of poor thermal efficiency
 The ratio of work done to the mechanical equivalent of the heat energy released by
combustion
 A modern piston engine is about 33% thermally efficient
 Heat energy is lost in the exhaust and in heating the engine
 Thermal efficiency is independent of altitude but increases with compression ratio
 Compression Ratio
 At TDC the mixture is contained in the clearance volume
 The difference between the clearance volume and the total volume is the swept volume
 The compression ratio is the ratio of total volume to clearance volume
 High compression ratios improve thermal efficiency

 Compression Ratio (cont.)
 At TDC the mixture is contained in the clearance volume
 The difference between the clearance volume and the total volume is the swept volume
 The compression ratio is the ratio of total volume to clearance volume
 High compression ratios improve thermal efficiency
 The swept volume multiplied by the number of cylinders gives the displacement
 Displacement = piston area x stroke x number of cylinders
 Aero engines have a relatively short stroke to decrease the width of the engine
 A short stroked engine has less inertia in the moving components
 To compensate for their shorter stroke, piston area is increased
 If cylinder diameter equals the stroke the design is square or square caged
 If the cylinder diameter exceeds the stroke the engine is over square

 Compression Ratio (cont.)

 Volumetric Efficiency
 Is the ratio of the mass of the mixture to the mass of air which would otherwise fill the
swept volume
 Three main factors influence volumetric efficiency
 The ease with which the mixture can enter the cylinder
 The density of the air (altitude, temperature and humidity)
 The ease with which the exhaust gases can leave the cylinder
 Inflow depends on the smoothness and shape of the inlet, the timing of the inlet valve
and the restriction presented by the butterfly valve
 Outflow depends on the design of the exhaust system and the exhaust valve
 Back pressure in the exhaust pipes hinder the exit of gas from the cylinders
 On a normally aspirated engine, volumetric efficiency increases with
 Altitude: reduced air density reduces back pressure but only while the MAP remains constant
 RPM: because of the increased momentum of the gases
 A modern normally aspirated piston engine typically achieves a volumetric efficiency of
about 80%

 Effect of Volumetric Efficiency
 In normally aspirated engines maximum power is obtained at low pressure altitudes
 Power reduces with altitude
 The effect of reduced back pressure is evident in flight when using a normally aspirated
engine and a variable pitch propeller
 When climbing at max continuous power, with MAP and RPM the power available
initially increases with altitude until the throttle is fully opened and the selected MAP
value can no longer be obtained
 Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC)
 Is the mass of fuel required to produce a given amount of power for a given period of
time
 The SI units are kilograms per kilowatt hour
 Low SFC indicates a more fuel efficient engine
 RPM Gauge
 Measures crankshaft RPM

 Manifold* Pressure Gauge
 Measures manifold pressure in Hg in
 Boost Pressure Gauge
 Measures manifold pressure in PSI relative to sea
level pressure
 Oil Pressure Gauge
 Measures the oil pressure just after the pressure
filter
 Oil Temperature Gauge
 Measures the oil temperature in the oil return
line
 CHT Gauge
 Measures the temperature of the hottest
cylinder
*Manifold pressure is the pressure in the fuel\air mixture between the throttle and the engine. When the throttle is at low power, then it is preventing
fuel\air from flowing which causes a reduction in pressure.


 Piston Engine Controls
 The Throttle Lever
 Controls MAP or RPM
 RPM Lever
 Sets engine/propeller RPM on variable pitch propeller systems
 Mixture Control
 Adjusts fuel flow from the carburettor (not used on a diesel engine)
 Carburettor Heat Control
 Selects the alternate, hot, unfiltered source of air
 Alternate Air
 For injected engines if the normal air supply becomes blocked
 Cowl Flap Lever
 Adjusts the engine cooling air inlet
 Ignition switch
 In the OFF position the switch is closed
 Engine Priming Pump
 Pumps neat fuel into the inlet manifold to assist engine starting
 Engine Prime Switch
 Controls a pump which injects fuel into the inlet manifold

 Pre-start Inspection
 The fuel must be checked for water contamination
 On inverted or radial engines, the propeller should be pulled-through to prevent
hydraulicing
 Starting Procedure Precautions
 Shut down if the starter warning light remains on for 30 seconds or more after start
 Positive engine oil pressure should be indicated within 30 seconds of engine start
 In very cold conditions increased oil viscosity may make starting more difficult
 After-start Checks and Testing
 Individually check magnetos to ensure both ignition circuits are working normally
 Carburettor heat should be off when the engine is running on the ground
 Prolonged idling should be avoided to avoid plug fouling
 Procedure for Changing Power Settings
 Slow, smooth throttle movement to reduce engine stress
 Reduced to max continuous as soon as is safely possible after take-off
 Constant speed propellers: ‘Rev up, throttle back’

 Shutdown Procedure
 Allow engine to cool at low RPM before shut-down
 Do a dead-cut check to confirm that both ignition circuits are properly earthed
 Engine Running Faults
 An excessively weak mixture could cause excessive CHT
 Rough running could be caused by carburettor icing, moisture in the ignition circuit,
problems with fuel delivery or uneven compression in the cylinder
 Black exhaust smoke indicates an excessively rich mixture
 Blue exhaust smoke is oil burning – worn or broken piston rings
 High CHT on the ground – cowl flaps may be closed

AIRCRAFT GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Lesson 13: Propellers
 Introduction
 A rotating propeller converts power from the engine into thrust
 There are two useful ways of understanding how it works
 A propeller accelerates a large quantity of air (which has mass) backwards. Every action has an equal
and opposite reaction. The reaction is thrust forwards.
 The propeller blade creates a differential pressure, which acts over the blade area to produce an
aerodynamic force.
 Propeller Definitions
 A propeller system comprises a hub on which are attached two or more blades
 Each blade has a blade tip and blade root
 The entire system is usually known simply as the propeller
 The circular area through which the blades rotate is the propeller disc
 The plane of rotation of the propeller disc is approximately vertical at the typical in-flight
attitude of the aircraft

 Propeller Definitions (cont.)
 The curved surface of the blade is known as the thrust face
 The lower surface is known as the blade back
 Blade twist has the same purpose and effect as washout on a
wing
 Washout is a characteristic of aircraft wing design which deliberately
reduces the lift distribution across the span of an aircraft's wing. The wing is
designed so that the angle of incidence is greater at the wing roots and
decreases across the span, becoming lowest at the wing tip.
 Chord Line
 The blade chord line is the imaginary straight line drawn from
the middle of the leading edge to the trailing edge
 Blade Angle
 The blade angle (or blade pitch) is the angle between the
plane of rotation and the chord line.
 Because of blade twist, the blade angle decreases from the
hub to the tip.
 The blade angle is measured at 70% of the distance between hub and tip.

 Angle of Attack
 The blade angle of attack is the angle between the relative
airflow and the chord line
 Helix Angle
 The helix angle is the angle between the plane of rotation and
the relative airflow
 Blade angle = Helix angle + Angle of attack
 Normally the blade angle exceeds the helix angle which
results in a positive angle of attack
 Negative if the helix angle exceeds the blade angle - the propeller
produces drag and no thrust

 Geometric Pitch
 Geometric pitch is the distance a propeller
would travel forward in one revolution if it
was moving through the air at the blade angle
 Effective Pitch and Propeller Slip

 Effective pitch: the distance the propeller
actually moves forwards in one revolution
 The difference between the geometric and
effective pitch is called slip
 Geometric pitch = Effective pitch + Slip
 In the normal powered flight the geometric
pitch is greater than the effective pitch

 Fine and Coarse Pitch
 ‘Pitch’ also describes the blade angle
 A fixed pitch propeller has blades which are fixed to the hub at a
preset angle
 Blade pitch angle is measured in degrees from the plane of rotation
 Small pitch angles are known as fine pitch, large pitch angles are
known as coarse pitch
 Types of Propeller
 Fixed pitch propellers
 The blade angle is fixed at manufacture
 Two pitch propellers
 Can set either fine or coarse pitch, but nothing in between
 Adjustable pitch propellers
 The blade angle is adjusted on the ground, but then acts as a fixed pitch propeller at that fixed setting
in flight
 Constant speed propellers
 Blade angle is automatically adjusted in flight to maintain the ideal angle of attack across a range of
airspeeds
 The blades are coarsened for high speed and fined off for low speed

 Aerodynamic Forces
 Thrust
 The component acting at right angles to the plane of rotation is known as thrust
 Torque
 The component acting parallel to the flow and in the opposite direction
 Also known as torque drag

 Aerodynamics of the Fixed Propeller – The Effect of TAS on Angle of Attack
 With a fixed pitch propeller the blade angle of attack changes if the direction of the
relative air flow into the blade alters
 The direction of the relative air flow entirely depends on
 The rotational speed of the propeller – determined by engine RPM
 The inflow into the propeller due (mostly) to the aircraft’s TAS

 Effect of TAS on Angle of Attack
 Forward speed has a marked effect on the direction of the relative air flow
 Blade angle of attack reduces as TAS increases
 A fixed pitch propeller has a blade angle optimised either for climb speed or cruise
speed

 Effect of RPM on Angle of Attack
 RPM has an effect on the angle of the relative air flow
 As RPM increases blade angle of attack increases
 Blade Twist
 For a given RPM, the rotational velocity at the tip is very much
higher than at the root
 Consequently, the RAF approaches the blade at greatly different angles along
its length
 Blade twist evens out the thrust force across the propeller
 Blade angle reduces from hub to tip

 Aerodynamics of Variable Pitch Propellers
 A fixed pitch propeller has disadvantages
 It only operates optimally at certain specific combinations of
TAS and RPM
 It restricts the maximum speed of the aeroplane
 There are two main types
 The adjustable pitch propeller is manually adjusted by the
pilot using a pitch control lever to either fine or coarse pitch
 The constant speed propeller is mechanically controlled by a
governor to keep propeller blades at their optimum angle of
attack over a wider speed range
 During the take-off run the propeller is set to fine
pitch, and is then coarsened as the TAS increases
during flight

 Engine Failure
 When an engine fails, the shaft torque used to turn the propeller is lost.
 Torque drag now exceeds shaft torque so the propeller slows down
 If the pitch is fine the propeller will continue to rotate in the same direction –
windmilling
 Aerodynamic force which acts parallel and opposite to the flight path is drag
 Selecting coarse pitch reduces windmilling and propeller drag
 Essential after engine failure because the drag seriously degrades glide performance
 Pull back on the pitch lever

 Feathering
 The drag from a failed propeller can be reduced much further by feathering
 Very important on a multi-engine aircraft because the asymmetric thrust can cause
control problems
 A feathered propeller only produces drag
 There is no torque because the propeller is stationary
 A feathered propeller produces much less drag than a windmilling propeller

 Propeller Efficiency
 Propeller efficiency is a measure of the power output from the propeller compared to
the power input from the engine
 The blade angle of attack is optimum either in the climb or at cruise speed with cruise
RPM set
 At anything other than the design speed, the propeller loses efficiency
 A variable pitch propeller has a performance envelope in which high efficiency is
preserved over a wide TAS range

 Propeller Effects
 Torque Reaction Effect
 For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction
 Slipstream Effect

 Asymmetric Blade Effect – P Factor
 At high angles of attack (slow flight) the right half of the propeller disc produces more
thrust than the left half
 This results in the thrust line being offset to the right rather than through the shaft axis
of the propeller
 The aircraft yaws left around its CG

Lesson 14: Propeller Systems
 Design and Construction
 Blades are attached to a central hub
 The hub is covered by a spinner to reduce drag
 The hub is attached to the drive shaft or crankshaft of the engine, either directly or
through a gearbox
 Basic Propeller System

 Reduction Gearbox
 On simple designs, the propeller is directly connected to the crankshaft
 Rotates at the same speed as the engine
 A reduction gearbox is used on powerful engines
 To reduce propeller RPM to its optimum
 To translate the large amounts of power into torque
 A small high-speed gear on the crankshaft rotates a relatively large low-speed gear
attached to the propeller shaft
 Allows the engine and propeller to rotate at their respective optimum RPMs

 Reduction Gearbox (cont.)
 Very high power gearboxes require helically-cut teeth, rather than straight-cut teeth, to
reduce the mechanical stresses on the gear teeth
 On more complex designs a pitch control unit allows the pitch angle of all blades to be
altered simultaneously

 Propeller Construction
 Simplest propellers are made from wood
 Most are made from metal alloys
 Some are made from composites

 Power Torque and Thrust
 Aerodynamic force acting parallel to and in the opposite direction from the plane of
rotation is called torque drag
 On a fixed pitch propeller system most of the time neither the engine nor the propeller
is operating at its optimum RPM

 Variable Pitch System
 Early variable pitch systems had only two or three pitch settings
 Modern systems have continuously adjustable pitch across a wide range of angles
 Thrust is increased by increasing the blade angle of attack rather than propeller RPM
 An increase in angle of attack causes an increase in torque drag
 Any increase in thrust requires an increase in power
 The Pitch Control Unit (PCU)
 The PCU uses operating pins (or links) to swivel the blades
 Driven by an electric motor or by oil and spring pressure
 Two types: the double-acting PCU and the single-acting PCU

 Single Acting PCU
 Is the simplest type of PCU
 Oil is fed to one side of the piston only to drive the pitch angle towards coarse
 When oil pressure is reduced or lost, the blades’ natural tendency is to move towards
fine because of the Centrifugal Twisting Moment (CTM)
 Must be assisted by a spring because CTM reduces with reducing RPM

 Single Acting PCU on a Twin
 To avoid asymmetric drag from a windmilling propeller the PCU coarsens-off blade angle
towards feather after engine failure
 Counterweights are attached to the blade root overcome the CTM
 A spring assists the process

 Double Acting PCU
 Supplies oil pressure supplied to both sides of the piston
 Because spring pressure and counterweights alone would not be able to cope with the
large force of a large propeller system

 Centrifugal Latch
 The centrifugal latch prevent the blades from moving
to the fully feathered position during shut-down
 Is incorporated in the PCU assembly
 The Constant Speed Unit
 The PCU must be controlled automatically
 For propeller RPM to be stable engine torque must
match torque drag
 Changes in forward speed change torque drag
 The CSU automatically matches torque drag to engine
torque
 If propeller RPM falls, it moves the blades to a finer pitch
 If propeller RPM rises, it moves the blades to a coarser
pitch

 CSU – Principle of Operation
 Modern commercial turboprops use Propeller Electronic Control (PEC) units
 Light twins use a hydro-mechnical device such as the Hamilton Standard CSU
 This unit comprises
 A gear pump to boost engine oil pressure to the higher pressures required by the PCU
 A rotating governor driven directly by the engine
 A landed valve attached to the governor
 A regulating spring which opposes the movement of the governor flyweights

 CSU – Principle of Operation (cont.)
 The landed valve directs oil pressure to either side of the PCU piston
 A return port dumps unwanted oil pressure back to the oil pump

 CSU Overspeed
 As engine RPM increase, the rotating flyweights are thrown outwards, lifting the valve
against spring pressure
 Pressurised oil flows to the coarse side of the PCU
 The blades coarsen, torque drag increases and so engine RPM reduce

 CSU On Speed
 When propeller torque and engine output are exactly matched the landed valve shuts
off the supply of high pressure oil into the valve chamber
 This creates an hydraulic lock which holds the propeller at the selected pitch angle

 CSU Underspeed
 If engine RPM decrease the flyweights move inwards, lowering the landed valve
 The valve oil pressure to the fine pitch side
 The blades move to a finer pitch, torque drag reduces below engine torque allowing the
propeller to accelerate back to equilibrium

 Adjusting RPM
 The on-speed condition is determined by two factors
 The mass of the governor weights and
 The force applied by the opposing spring
 By adjusting the spring force, the pilot can select different on-speed RPMs

 CSU Mounting

 Feathering
 The simplest feathering system uses the RPM lever
 The lever can physically lift the landed valve to the fully coarse position, bypassing the
governor completely

 Feathering Safety and Backup
 If the engine malfunctions oil pressure may not be available for the CSU
 Feathering systems must have a separate oil reservoir with sufficient oil to allow the
propeller to be feathered
 Usually supplemented by an electrically driven pump
 Auto-feathering Systems
 Propeller Control Panel on a Dash 8 Q400
 Commercial aircraft have an auto-feathering system to reduce pilot workload during an
engine failure on take-off

 Un-feathering Mechanisms
 Allow the propeller to be un-feathered on the ground or in flight
 The principal reason for an un-feathering pump is to assist an airborne restart
 Driving the propeller out of the feathered position to a finer pitch setting will cause it to
start windmilling
 If the pitch angle is sufficiently fine, and the aircraft’s TAS sufficiently high, a windmilling
propeller will rotate the engine fast enough to allow the engine to be restarted
 Simple Un-feathering Mechanism
 Uses an un-feathering accumulator
 The accumulator stores a sufficient quantity of oil under high pressure to allow the PCU
to drive the blades away from feather
 The accumulator is continuously charged during normal operations
 An electrically operated solenoid valve linked to the propeller control lever opens the
supply when the lever is moved away from the feathered position


 Reverse Thrust, Beta Range
 At very fine blade pitch the blade angle of attack may reduce
below 0° at higher airspeeds
 When this happens the total reaction moves to the thrust face of
the blade and thrust is generated in the opposite direction from
the aircraft’s movement
 A very large amount of drag is produced!
 The minimum pitch setting in flight is carefully controlled to avoid
excessive drag
 Hence a fine pitch stop or flight idle stop which prevents the
power lever from being moved too far aft
 The flight idle stop removed when the aircraft on ground

 The Beta Range
 Is the range of pitch angles available below flight idle
 Control in the Beta Range

 Negative pitch creates a very large amount of torque drag
 Torque drag increases very rapidly the further the blade moves into the Beta range
 Retarding the power lever to produce more reverse thrust requires more engine power
 Only turboprop engines have enough power to drive true Beta range operations
 In the Beta range the power lever directly controls blade pitch angle whilst propeller
RPM are maintained within safe levels by an under-speed governor

 Cabin Noise and Synchrophasing
 Cabin noise is caused by pressure waves emanating from the blade tips
 Directly related to the blade pass frequency
 The frequency at which a blade passes a particular point

 Cabin Noise and Synchrophasing
 With multiple propellers, individual blade pass frequencies add together to create a beat
frequency
 When the beat frequency coincides with the natural resonant frequencies of the cabin,
very uncomfortable noise levels can be experienced
 If the propellers are rotating at very slightly different speeds to each other an
uncomfortable and annoying rhythmic noise occurs
 A synchronising unit cures this by adjusting propeller RPM so that all are exactly the
same
 One engine is designated as the master – the others engines as slaves
 The slaves are adjusted to the RPM of the master
 The synchronising unit doesn’t affect the beat frequency

 Methods for Indicating Power
 On fixed pitch propellers the amount of thrust is
proportional to engine RPM
 Required power is set as an RPM
 On a constant speed propeller engine power is a
function of the mass flow through the engine –
as measured by the MAP
 Torque Indications
 A torque gauge indicates the amount of torque
being applied by the engine to the propeller shaft
 Torque sensing can either be done electronically
or by measuring oil pressure

 Power and RPM Lever
 The simplest variable pitch system has a power lever and a propeller RPM lever for each
engine
 The RPM lever is usually coloured blue on light aircraft
 Sets the propeller to a very fine angle when fully forward
 This is the Fine or Maximum RPM setting or fully fine
 The Maximum RPM setting only governs propeller pitch when the engine RPM reach a
certain maximum value
 The fully fine setting minimises torque drag allowing the engine to respond very quickly
to changing power requirements
 It is used for taxiing, take-off and go-around
 You must check that RPM levers are set to fully fine or MAX RPM for take-off and landing
 When the lever is set to fully aft it feathers the propeller
 Engine RPM is set using the RPM lever and engine power (measured in manifold air
pressure) is set using the throttle

 Power and RPM Lever
 At relatively low RPM (high gear) at high power it’s possible to over boost the engine
 If you need to increase power significantly you must first set a higher RPM. ‘Rev up - throttle back’
 Turbocharged engines often have an over boost protection system which dumps excess
boost pressure and illuminates an over boost warning light if you forget to rev up first!
 The symptoms of over boosting include engine roughness and vibration
 Variable Pitch Propeller Controls

 Power and Condition Levers
 Commercial turboprops have a power lever and a condition lever for each engine
 The condition lever controls fuel shut-off and sets the propeller to one of several
operating modes
 Doesn’t have to be constantly adjusted during flight
 Set to an operating mode depending on the phase of flight and propeller
 Once set, all power changes are made using the power levers alone
 No ‘rev up - throttle back’
 CSU Checks
 After engine start operate the RPM lever to exercise the CSU and encourage oil to flow
 Check RPM rise and fall
 Feathering check
 Momentarily set feather
 RPM drop rapidly so the lever must be moved out of the feather position reasonably quickly to avoid
the engine becoming bogged down
 Set RPM levers fully forward for taxiing and take-off
 Downwind the RPM lever will be set fully forward in anticipation of a possible go-around

 Power and Condition Levers (cont.)


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PRIVATE PILOT LICENCE

 I Beam Spar Construction

 Fuel Storage Spaces

 Nose Steering – Light Aircraft

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The piston and crankshaft

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Adiabatic Processes of Theoretical Four Stroke Cycle

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 Wet and Dry Sump Systems

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 Engine Cooling Systems