Flight mechanics

• Flight Mechanics is the

study of the forces acting
❑ What is flight on an aircraft in flight,
mechanics?
and the response of the
aircraft to those forces.
❑ Forces acting on
an aeroplane

o Straight horizontal • In S+L flight there are four

steady flight forces acting on the aircraft:
o Lift
o Weight
o Thrust
o Drag
• For an aircraft to
be in steady level
flight, a condition of
equilibrium must
exist.
❑ What is the
function of
tailplane?

o Maintains
equilibrium by
supply the force
necessary to
counter any
pitching
moments.
 • Drag increases with speed
(above VMD) and so to
• For steady level maintain a higher speed,
flight at a constant the thrust must be
speed, the thrust increased by opening the
must equal the throttle.
drag.
❑ Straight Steady
Climb
What is ‘flight-path
angle’?
Forces in a steady
climb
 …because Lift only has to
support a proportion of the
weight, this proportion
decreasing as the climb angle
increases.
• In a straight steady
climb, Lift is less (In a vertical climb no lift is
than Weight, required).

Why? • The remaining proportion of

Weight is supported by
engine Thrust.
 • This is to balance the
• For a straight backward component of
steady climb the Weight acting along the
Thrust required is flight path.
greater than Drag.
 …after opposing
aerodynamic drag.
• The smaller the Drag for a
given Thrust, the greater
• The ability of an the ability to climb.
aircraft to climb
depends upon • Drag will be less with
EXCESS THRUST, flaps up, giving a larger
available… climb angle (improved
climb gradient).
 • As both Thrust and Drag vary
with IAS,
excess Thrust will be
• Climb angle greatest at one particular
depends on speed.
“excess Thrust” ( T
- D ) and the • This is the speed for
Weight. maximum angle of climb, VX.
 • This is achieved when an
• What is VX, aircraft gains the most
altitude in the shortest
(best climb angle)?
horizontal distance covered.
 • For a jet engine, where
Thrust is fairly constant
with speed, VX will be near
• The variation of to VMD,
Thrust with speed
but for a propeller engined
will depend on the
aircraft VX will usually be
type of engine.
below VMD.
 • V/D max = 1.32VMD and
• VMD approximately 1.7Vs for a piston and
equals 1.3Vs for a 2.1Vs for a jet.
piston and 1.6Vs for
a jet.
Factors Affecting
Angle of Climb o Weight.
Explain how the o Aircraft Configuration.
following affects the o Density.
angle of climb?
o Wind Speed and Direction
 • The gradient of climb is the
ratio of a height gain to
the horizontal ground
distance travelled,
• What is gradient of expressed as a percentage.
climb?
• It is also the ratio of the
ROC in feet per minute to
the horizontal speed in feet
per minute.
 • Thrust available from the
engine decreases with
increasing altitude and
increasing temperature,
which also reduces excess
o What is the Effect
Thrust.
of Weight, Altitude
and Temperature • Climb angle therefore
on climb angle? decreases with increasing
Weight, altitude and
temperature.
 ❑ VY best rate • Speed at which there is the
climb airspeed maximum excess of power
available over power required
o The maximum rate for level flight.
of climb (VY)
• This occurs when it is flown at
a small angle of climb and a
high airspeed.
 • Thrust available is
unaffected by the changes
• Thrust available of mass.
decreases with
• VMP is always less than
increased altitude
VMD.
for a constant
mass.
❑ Factors
Affecting Rate
of Climb
• Aircraft Configuration.
• Aircraft Weight.
• Altitude and Atmospheric
Density.
 o Absolute ceiling
• Define the
following? o Service ceiling
❑ Power on
descend

o Forces acting
include:
 • The increased component of
Weight acting forward along
the flight path will cause an
increase in IAS.
• The increased IAS will
• What will happen if
result in an increase in Drag
the nose of the
which will eventually
aircraft is lowered
balance the increased
with a constant
forward force of Weight
Thrust setting?
and equilibrium will be
re-established.
 • This is because Lift only
has to balance the
• In a descent Lift is component of Weight
less than Weight. perpendicular to the flight
why? path
 • This is because Weight is
• In a descent Thrust giving a forward component
is less than Drag. in the same direction as
Thrust
Why?
 ❑ Emergency • In the event of cabin
Descent pressurization failure at
high altitude it is
o What can cause an necessary to descend as
emergency quickly as possible.
descent?
• The rate of descent can
be increased by:
 o Increasing Drag by:
❑ extending the speedbrakes,
o Reducing Thrust by ❑ lowering the landing gear (at or
closing the below VLO).
throttles.
o Increasing speed by lowering
the nose.
 ❑ Glide

o Lift
o Weight
o Drag.
❑ The angle of a
descend in a o The descent (glide) angle
glide will be least when the L/D
ratio is the greatest.
o Glide angle is a
o L/D ratio is a maximum at the
function ONLY of
optimum angle of attack, and
the L/D ratio.
this also corresponds to the
minimum drag speed (VMD).
 • Maximum distance in a
o At speeds above glide can be achieved when
or below VMD the the aircraft is flown at L/D
glide angle will be MAX (VMD).

steeper.
❑ What is the
Effect of weight
on glide range? • Provided the aircraft is
flown at its optimum angle
o L/D MAX is of attack,
independent of the glide angle and glide
weight. distance will be the same
whatever the weight.
 • At a higher weight the
aircraft will glide the same
distance but at a higher
• VMD increases as speed,
weight increases.
and consequently it will have
(an increased RATE an increased RATE of
of descent.) descent.
Effect of wind
o In a headwind the ground
distance will be
decreased and in a
tailwind it will be
increased.
 ❑ Effect of
configuration o Extension of flaps, spoilers,
speed brakes or landing gear
o The maximum L/D etc. will reduce L/DMAX and
ratio of an aircraft give a steeper glide angle,
will be obtained in the thus reducing glide range
clean configuration.
 ❑ Rate of
descend in a
glide

o Minimum rate of
descent in the glide is
obtained at the IAS
which produces
minimum Power
Required (VMP).
 • Wind speed and
o Flying at VMP in a direction has no effect on
glide will enable rate of descent.
the aircraft to stay
airborne for as long
as possible.
• Relationship of VMD
and VMP is by use
of the polar curve.
 ❑ Turning

• For an aircraft to • This is called the

change direction, a centripetal force.
force is required to
deflect it towards the
centre of the turn.
 • It’s the horizontal
component of Lift which
causes the aircraft to turn.
• If the aircraft is banked and
• Banking the the angle of attack kept
aircraft inclines constant,
the Lift. the vertical component of lift
will be too small to balance
the weight and the aircraft will
start to descend.
 ❑ Effect of
Weight on
Turning • If the same TAS and angle of
bank can be obtained, the
• In a steady level turn, radius of turn is basically
if thrust is ignored, lift independent of weight or the
provides a force to aircraft type.
balance weight and
centripetal force to
turn the aircraft.
 • If weight increases, the
vertical component of lift
required increases, but the
• Not all aircraft can centripetal force to maintain
reach the same the same radius of turn also
angle of bank at the increases in the same
same TAS. proportion.
 The lift required,
although it is greater,
has the same
inclination to the
vertical as before and
the bank angle is the
same
 It may be expressed as degrees
❑ Define rate of
per minute, or by a Rate
turn? Number.
• The rate of ❑ Rate 1 turn is 180° per minute
change of (3° per second)
heading or
angular velocity ❑ Rate 2 turn is 360° per minute
of the turn. (6° per second)
 • To maintain a constant rate
of turn, increasing speed
requires an increased bank
At a constant TAS, angle.
increasing the angle of • At a constant bank angle,
bank decreases the increasing speed increases the
turn radius turn radius and decreases the
and increases the rate rate of turn.
of turn.
 ❑ Bank angle (φ):
A steeper bank reduces
• Two variables turn radius and increases
determine the rate the rate of turn, but
of turn and radius produces a higher load
of turn: factor.
 • Reducing speed reduces
❑ True airspeed turn radius and increases
(TAS):
the rate of turn, without
increasing the load factor.
 • If speed is doubled, the
turn radius will be four times
greater, at a constant bank
angle.
• The radius of turn,
at any given bank • If speed is doubled, the rate
angle (φ), of turn will be half of its
varies directly with the previous value, at a constant
square of the TAS: bank angle.
 ❑ Turn asymmetric thrust and spiral
co-ordination slipstream,
all give the possibility of
• Adverse aileron yaw, unco-ordinated flight.
engine torque, • Unco-ordinated flight exists
propeller gyroscopic when the aircraft is
precession, sideslipping.
Turn
co-ordinator
 • To do this, apply rudder
pressure on the side where the
ball is deflected.
• Co-ordinated flight is • The simple rule, “step on the
maintained by keeping ball,” is a useful way to
the ball centred remember which rudder to
between the reference apply.
lines with rudder.
 o A rate 1
co-ordinated turn to
the right.
❑ Slipping turn

o A slipping turn will

occur if the angle of
bank is too large for a
given rate of turn,
i.e. the aircraft is
over-banked.
 ❑ Skidding turn

o A skidding turn will

occur if the angle of
bank is too small for
the rate of turn,
i.e. the aircraft is
under-banked.
❑ Propeller
slipstream