PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT

AIRFOIL

 An airfoil is technically defined as any surface, such as an airplane aileron,

elevator, rudder, or wing, designed to obtain a useful reaction from the air
through which it moves.
 An airfoil is a structure designed to obtain reaction upon its surface from the
air through which it moves or that moves past such a structure.
 Airfoils are designed to produce lift.
 The structure which makes flight possible.
 Shape of flight control surfaces, propellers, and rotor blades.
AIRFOIL TERMINOLOGIES
 Leading Edge- forward part of the airfoil.
 Trailing Edge- aft part of the airfoil.
 Chord line- is an imaginary straight line connecting the leading edge (the forward-most tip) and
the trailing edge of the airfoil.
 Chord- is the distance between the leading edge and the trailing edge. The longer the chord,
the greater lift.
 Camber- is defined as the curvature of an airfoil surface or an airfoil section from the leading
edge to the trailing edge.
 Thickness and thickness distribution- distance between the upper and lower surfaces.
 Relative wind- flows opposite the direction of the object in motion.
 Angle of Attack- an acute angle is formed between the chord of the airfoil and the relative
wind. The higher the angle of attack, the higher the lift up to an extent.
FOUR FORCES OF FLIGHT
lift

 The force generated by the wing in order make

the aircraft fly.
 It is the upward force created by the wing as air
flows above them.
 The force that keeps the airplane in the air.
Two major theories in the production of
lift.

 Newton’s three laws of motion

 Bernoulli’s principle Daniel Bernoulli

Sir Isaac Newton

Newton’s three laws of motion

• A body at rest remains at rest or in motion unless acted upon

by an outside force.

• Force is equal to mass times acceleration.

• For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Bernoulli’s principle

As the velocity of a fluid (in this case,

air) increases, its internal pressure
decreases.
Generating lift

 Applying Bernoulli’s Principle of Pressure, the increase in the speed of the air
across the top of an airfoil produces a drop in pressure. This lowered pressure
is a component of total lift. The pressure difference between the upper and
lower surface of a wing alone does not account for the total lift force
produced.
 The downward backward flow from the top surface of an airfoil creates a
downwash. This downwash meets the flow from the bottom of the airfoil at the
trailing edge. Applying Newton’s third law, the reaction of this downward
backward flow results in an upward forward force on the airfoil.
Coefficient of Lift
WEIGHT
 Is the force that pulls the aircraft downward because of the force of
gravity.
 It opposes lift and acts vertically downward through the aircraft’s
center of gravity (CG).
 The combined load of the aircraft itself, the crew, the fuel, and the
cargo or baggage.
 Center of Gravity(CG) - s the point at which all the weight of the
aircraft is concentrated and balanced; therefore, the aircraft can be
supported at that point (the CG). As the location of the center of
gravity affects the stability of the aircraft, it must fall within specified
limits that are established by the aircraft manufacturer.

 i
 Maximum weight- is the maximum authorized weight of the aircraft and its
contents, and is indicated in the Aircraft Specifications or TCDS.
 Maximum Ramp Weight—the heaviest weight to which an aircraft can be
loaded while it is sitting on the ground. This is sometimes referred to as the
maximum taxi weight.
 Maximum Takeoff Weight—the heaviest weight an aircraft can be when it
starts the takeoff roll. The difference between this weight and the maximum
ramp weight would equal the weight of the fuel that would be consumed prior
to takeoff.
 Maximum Landing Weight—the heaviest weight an aircraft can be when it
lands. For large, wide body commercial airplanes, it can be 100,000 lb less
than maximum takeoff weight, or even more.
 Maximum Zero Fuel Weight—the heaviest weight an aircraft can be loaded to
without having any usable fuel in the fuel tanks. Any weight loaded above this
value must be in the form of fuel.
 Empty weight- includes all operating equipment that has a fixed location and
is actually installed in the aircraft. It includes the weight of the airframe,
powerplant, required equipment, optional or special equipment, fixed ballast,
hydraulic fluid, and residual fuel and oil.
THRUST
 It is the force needed to overcome the resistance of air (drag) to the passage of
an aircraft. To maintain level flight at constant speed, constant thrust is
required; to climb or descend the aircraft whilst maintaining constant speed,
the thrust must be increased or decreased; to increase or reduce the speed of
the aircraft whilst maintaining level flight, the thrust must be increased or
decreased.
 Is a practical application of Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion which
states that, ’for every force acting on a body there is an opposite and equal
reaction’.
 Propels the aircraft by thrusting a large weight of air backwards, one in the
form of a large air slipstream at comparatively low speed(Engine/Propeller),
and the other in the form of a jet of gas at very high speed.(Turbojet/Turbofan
Engines)
 AIRCRAFT PROPELLER- consists of two or more blades and a central hub to
which the blades are attached. Each blade of an aircraft propeller is
essentially a rotating wing. As a result of their construction, the propeller
blades are like airfoils and produce forces that create the thrust to pull, or
push, the aircraft through the air. The engine furnishes the power needed to
rotate the propeller blades through the air at high speeds, and the propeller
transforms the rotary power of the engine into forward thrust.
Gas-Turbine Engine Compressors and Turbines
 The centrifugal flow compressor is a single or two stage unit employing an impeller
to accelerate the air and a diffuser to produce the required pressure rise.
 The axial flow compressor is a multi-stage unit employing alternate rows of airfoil
section rotating (rotor) blades and stationary (stator) vanes, to accelerate and
diffuse the air until the required pressure rise is obtained.
 The turbine has the task of providing the power to drive the compressor and
accessories and, in the case of engines which do not make use solely of a jet for
propulsion, of providing shaft power for propeller or rotor. It does this by extracting
energy from the hot gases released from the combustion system and expanding
them to a lower pressure and temperature.
In an aircraft, the thrust is generated in different ways according to the type of propulsion:
• Turbojet: all the thrust is generated in the form of jet propulsion from the rear of the
engine. (Now used mostly in military aircraft).
• Turbofan: most of the thrust is generated by a large fan at the front of the engine; a
small percentage is generated by jet propulsion.
• Turboprop: most of the thrust is generated by the propeller; a small percentage is
generated by jet efflux.
• Piston: all the thrust is generated by the propeller.
ENGINE POWER
 The Power required to generate thrust depends on a number of factors, but in simple
terms it may be said that the power is proportional to the thrust required times the
aircraft speed.
 Engine power of the aircraft is controlled by the Throttles or Thrust Levers. When
they are pushed, power is increased. When pulled, power is reduced.
 If in level flight, the engine power is reduced, the thrust is lessened, and the aircraft
slows down. As long as the thrust is less than the drag, the aircraft continues to
decelerate. To a point, as the aircraft slows down, the drag force will also decrease. The
aircraft will continue to slow down until thrust again equals drag at which point the
airspeed will stabilize.
 Likewise, if the engine power is increased, thrust becomes greater than drag and the
airspeed increases. As long as the thrust continues to be greater than the drag, the
aircraft continues to accelerate. When drag equals thrust, the aircraft flies at a constant
airspeed.
 Engine power can be measured by tachometer(RPM) and manifold pressure in piston
engines, torque and NP (PROPELLER RPM) on turboprops, then N1(%) and
EPR(Engine Pressure Ratio) in Gas-turbine engines.
MODERN HIGH BYPASS RATIO ENGINE
THRUST RATING
80%- BYPASS AIR
20%- JET PROPULSION