EXERCISE 4

EFFECTS OF CONTROLS

 AIM:

To give the student a good understanding and thorough knowledge of the principles involved in the
use of the basic flight controls.

 DEFINITION:

This exercise is an introduction to the aircraft’s controls, their method of operation and how these
Controls affect the aircraft during flight.

 WHAT THE INSTRUCTOR IS TO TEACH:

1- Discuss the principles involved.

2- The air exercise briefing.
3- Applicable procedures and Check Lists.
4- Aircraft handling techniques: Demonstration and Observation.
5- Consideration of Airmanship and Engine handling.
6- Similarity to previous exercises.
7- De-briefing after flight.

 HOW THE EXERCISE APPLIES TO FLYING:

- These controls are used in all flying.

- The inter-relationship between these controls will be shown in later exercises.

 OVERVIEW:

- Bernoulli’s theories.
- Aerofoil.
- Power change and flaps effect on couples.
- Lift formula.
- Drag.
- Effects of Flap how control surface works.
- Newton’s laws.
- Planes of movement for each flight control.
- Control effectiveness.
- Skidding, slipping and weather cocking.
- Primary and secondary effects of aileron, rudder and elevator.
- Adverse aileron yaw.
- Recovery from spiral dive.
- Working of trimmer.

Bernoulli’s theories

 Bernoulli’s principle helps explain that an aircraft can achieve lift because of the shape of its
wings. They are shaped so that that air flows faster over the top of the wing and slower
underneath.

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The high air pressure underneath the wings will therefore push the aircraft up through the lower air
pressure. Fast moving air equals Low air pressure while slow moving air equals high air pressure.

 Bernoulli’s Theorem: A gas in steady motion has the following energies:

- Potential Energy.
- Heat Energy.
- Pressure Energy.
- Kinetic Energy.

Bernoulli further stated that in an ideal fluid including air (one which has no friction and cannot be
compressed), the sum of these energies are constant.

Potential Energy + Heat Energy + Pressure Energy + Kinetic Energy = Constant

Furthermore, at speeds below Mach 0.4, Potential and Heat Energy are insignificant; there is no heat
or work transferred. This leaves us with:

Pressure Energy (ρ) + Kinetic Energy (½ρV2) = Constant

(Static) (Dynamic)

Therefore as velocity increases, pressure decreases, and as velocity decreases pressure increases.

The Relative Low pressure on top of the wing, and the Relative High pressure below our wing, will
force the wing upwards. Thus creating a lifting force we call (LIFT).

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  Flat plate Theory:

A flat plate placed in the airflow in this manner will have little, if any effect on the relative airflow.

However, if the plate is tilted against the relative airflow, the airflow is disrupted. This will result in a
force acting perpendicular to the plate, which is called the total reaction. This force is comprised of
a lift force element, and a drag force element.

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 The Aerofoil:

 The aerofoil sections:

- Chord line: Refers to the imaginary straight line joining the leading and trailing edges of an
aerofoil.

- Mean chamber line: A line on a cross section of a wing of an aircraft which is equidistant
from the upper and lower surfaces of the wing.

- Relative airflow (RAF): Is the direction of movement of the atmosphere relative to an aircraft
or an aerofoil. Acts in the opposite direction to the A/C same direction as drag.

- Angle of incidence: Angle between the chord line and the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.

- Angle of attack: Angle between the chord line and the relative airflow (RAF).

 Angle of Attack (AoA):

If we increase the AoA, the distance the airflow over the top wing has to travel, increases.
Thus the airflow has to increase in speed with the corresponding greater decrease in
pressure. Underneath the aerofoil the distance the airflow has to travel decreases thus
causing less of an increase in speed. This creates an increase in lift.

 Flaps:
- Use of flap-type controls and theory of operation:

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 - There are three types of flap-type controls:

1) The Elevator.
2) The Ailerons.
3) The Rudder.

The flap-type controls increase or decrease the AoA of the aircraft to the relative airflow.

- Flaps Effects

1 The AOA.
2 Which increases lift & Drag?

- Flaps allow us to:

1 Fly slower.
2 Increase glide angle.
3 Makes landing easier.

 The Couples:

- Lift: is the component of this force that is perpendicular to the RAF.

- Weight: of an object is usually taken to be the force on the object due to gravity.
- Thrust: is the force opposite to drag (Newton’s second law).
- Drag: forces acting opposite to the relative motion of any object moving with respect to a
surrounding fluid opposite direction to thrust.

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  The Lift Formula:

LIFT=Cl½ρV2S

 There are four main factors influencing the factors of lift:

Cl = Angle of Attack - Camber.

Ρ = Air density (Rho).
V2 = Velocity (speed).
S = Surface area.

 Planes of Movement:

1- The Lateral Axis:

The lateral axis runs through the centre of gravity of the aircraft from wingtip to wingtip.

2- The Longitudinal Axis:

The longitudinal axis runs through the centre of gravity of the aircraft from the nose to the tail.

3- The Normal Axis ( vertical Axis):

The normal axis runs through the centre of gravity of the aircraft from the canopy to the undercarriage.

 Centre of gravity: an imaginary point that the entire tree axis’s run through it.

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  Flight control relative to their axes:

1- Pitching:
The elevator is used to pitch the aircraft up to the canopy or down to the undercarriage about the
lateral axis.

2- Rolling:
The ailerons are used to roll the aircraft left or right about the longitudinal axis.

3- Yawing:
The rudder is used to yaw the aircraft left or right about the normal axis.

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  Factors affecting control effectiveness:

At a high speed the control surfaces are most effective this is due to the higher velocity of relative
airflow over the aerofoil causing the controls to be very responsive. However at a low Air speed there
is a reduction in relative airflow this reduction cause the controls to be “sloppy” not as responsive.

 Skidding:

A skidding turn is an uncoordinated turn causing the aeroplane to skid to the outside of the turn.
The rudder is used to help coordinate the turn. The nose will have tendency to go towards the banked
wing.

 Slipping:

Uncoordinated turn causing the aeroplane to slip to the outside of the turn. The rudder is used to
help coordinate the turn. The nose will have tendency to go out of the banked wing.

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  Weather cocking:
a phenomenon experienced by fixed wing aircraft on the ground.

Aircraft on the ground have a natural pivoting point on an axis through the main landing gear contact
point. As most of the side area of an aircraft will typically be behind this pivoting point, any crosswind
will create a yawing moment tending to turn the nose of the aircraft into the wind.

 Slipstream Effect:
The turbulent flow of air driven backward by the propeller or propellers of an aircraft. Also called
race. The area of reduced pressure or forward suction produced by and immediately behind a fast-
moving object as it moves through air or water. Will create a yawing moment tending to turn the
nose of the aircraft opposite direction of the propeller or propellers rotation.

- Newton’s Laws with Reference to Flight Controls:

1- Newton 1 ( equilibrium ):

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A body will remain in a state of rest or uniform motion until acted upon by an external unbalanced
force.

The aircraft will do nothing until a force is applied. This can be like if the control column is turned to
the right the aircraft will roll to the right. If the control column is pulled back, the aircrafts’ nose will
pitch up.The best example is the inertia how to make the aeroplane moves from stagnant state.

2- Newton 2 ( acceleration ):

When an external force acts upon a body, the body will accelerate in the direction of the applied
force and in the same magnitude as the applied force.

The greater the input that the pilot is making, the greater the response the aircraft will give. If the pilot
rolls the control column far to the right, the aircraft will roll rapid to the right.

3- Newton 3 ( action and reaction ):

For every action there would be an equal but opposite reaction.

For the pro-force that the pilot apply, there is a progressive reaction stopping the aircraft. If the pilot is
turning the control column to the right the aircraft will bank and stop, it wont keep on rolling.

 Primary Effect of Control:

- Elevator – Pitching.

If the control column is pulled backwards - backpressure, the aircrafts nose will pitch towards the
canopy. The elevator is moving up and causes a decrease in lift - angle of attack decreased - on the
horizontal stabilizer. Thus the tail goes down and the nose pitches towards the canopy and vice -
versa.

- Ailerons – Rolling.

If the control column is turned to the right the aircraft will roll to the right. The right aileron goes up and
the left aileron goes down. This cause a decrease of lift on the right wing (angle of attack
decreased) and an increase of lift on the left wing (angle of attack increased). Thus the aircraft rolls.

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 - Rudder – Yawing.

If the left rudder pedal is depressed, the aircraft will yaw to the left. The rudder moves to the left,
thus increasing the AoA (left) and creates lift to the right, thus yawing the nose of the aircraft to the
left.

 Adverse Aileron Yaw:

The up going wing (down going Aileron) has increased lift as well as drag, Therefore the up going
wing will move slower causing the Aircraft to initially Yaw out of the turn.

 Lift and Drag relations:

Lift/Drag Ratio. Drag is the price paid to obtain lift. The lift to drag ratio (L/D) is the amount of lift
generated by a wing or aerofoil compared to its drag. The lift/drag ratio is used to express the
relation between lift and drag and is determined by dividing the lift coefficient by the drag
coefficient, CL/CD.

 The four forces are:

1- Lift.
2- Weight.
3- Thrust.
4- Drag.

 The couples:

(Lift and Weight will be opposite (parallel) and equal to each other).
(Thrust and Drag will be opposite (parallel) and equal to each other).

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  Drag.

 Types of drag:
5- Induced or Lift dependent Drag:
(Drag Decreases with an increase in velocity and increasing with increasing lift).
6- profile or Zero Lift Drag:
1 Form- Shape of Aircraft.
2 Skin Friction- Air over skin of aeroplane.
(Drag Increase with Increase in velocity)

 Adverse Aileron Yaw:

Adverse aileron yaw happens when the aircraft rolls (let's say to the right hand side). The nose now
wants to yaw to the opposite direction (left hand side). Thus the aircraft yaws to the opposite direction
of the roll.

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What happens is that when the aircraft rolls the down going aileron (up going wing) produces
more lift due to the increase in angle of attack. If there is more lift there must be more induced
drag. The up going wing also has an area of high pressure causing profile drag to increase. Thus drag
in total has increased.

The up going aileron (down going wing) produces less lift due to the decrease in angle of attack. If
there is less lift there must be less induced drag. The down going wing also has an area of low
pressure causing profile drag to decrease. Thus drag in total has decreased.

The aircraft now yaws to the high drag wings side.

 To stop Adverse Aileron yaw, two systems can be integrated into the aileron design:
1) Differential Ailerons.
2) Frise-type ailerons.

 Differential ailerons:

The down going aileron (up going wing) is deflected less than the up going aileron (down going wing),
thus generating less lift and thus less drag; therefore solving the uninvited yaw.

 FRISE-Type Ailerons:
The up going aileron protrudes a piece of its control into the relative airflow below the wing, thus
generating more drag, and therefore equals the drag of the up wing with the down going wing . Use of
rudder during aileron application for balance.

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  Further effects of the flight control surfaces:
.

Control Primary Secondary Further

AXIS
Surface Effect Effect Effect

Elevator LATERAL Pitch ………. Speed

Rudder NORMAL/VERTICAL Yaw Roll Spiral Dive

Ailerons LONGITUDINAL Roll Yaw Spiral Dive

 The Spiral Dive.

7- Further effect of rudder:

As we saw earlier, when the rudder is used the aircraft will yaw and the secondary effect of the rudder
is that the aircraft will roll.

8- Further effect of aileron:

As we saw earlier, when the ailerons are used the aircraft will roll and the secondary effect of the
ailerons is that the aircraft will yaw.

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If nothing is done to these secondary effects, they will start feeding each other, because yaw creates
roll and roll creates yaw, and so it continues. The aircraft will then descent in a spiral path at a high
airspeed. This is called a Spiral dive.

9- Symptoms of the Spiral dive:

1 Low nose position relative to the horizon.

2 High airspeed.
3 High rate of descent.
4 High bank angle.

10-How to recover:
1 Close the power.

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 2 Roll wings level.
3 Ease out of the dive.
4 Apply full power passing the horizon.

11-Working of the trimmer:

Trim is used to relieve pressure of the control column for you continuously have to hold the control
column back to maintain straight and level then you need to trim nose up rotate the trimmer towards
you (think of it like combing you hair) and vice versa.

 Engine controls and indications:

1 -Throttle (Black).

The throttle must be opened and closed slowly and smoothly. This is to protect the engine from
damage. When we open it too fast, too much fuel can be fed into the carburettor and the engine can
stall (sudden stopping of the engine turning, usually brought about accidentally)

2 -Carburettor heat (Black).

Carburettor heat can be used to:

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 12- Prevent icing.
13- Take away icing.
14- Prevent shock cooling.

If the engine is running rough there could be icing in the carburettor and we should then apply
carburettor heat. If ice is present, the RPM will decrease and thereafter increase when the ice is gone.

In long descents the carburettor heat must be in the hot position to prevent the engine from shock
cooling due to the low RPM and the lots of cold air flowing over the engine. If we do not use
carburettor heat it would be similar to putting a hot pot into cold water.

Usually Carburettor heat is selected bellow 2 000 RPM.

4 -Mixture (Red):

The aircraft is started with the mixture fully rich (pouched in).

When the engine is running the mixture must be leaned (Pulled out) a bit for the taxi. This prevents
fouling off the engine.

For every 1000 that we are climbing the mixture must be leaned slightly; or enriched slightly when
descending.

 Temperatures and Pressures.

The temperatures and pressures must be monitored at least every 5 minutes and every time we do a
lookout for a manoeuvre.

This can indicate problems, if the temperature or pressure needle is in the red band something is
wrong and we must start doing something about it like an early landing.

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End of Exercise 4 – Effect of Controls

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