AERONAUTICS 1.What is Aeronautics? The study of flight and the science of building and operating an aircraft. 2.What is aerodynamics?

Aerodynamics is the study of forces and the resulting motion of objects through the air. "aero" stands for the air, and "dynamic" denotes motion. 3.What is aerodynamics forces? Aerodynamic forces (i.e. lift, drag) are mechanical forces and the airplane has to be in physical contact with the air which generates the force. 4.What is gravitational force? The gravitational force (weight) is a field force; the source of the force does not have to be in physical contact with the object (the airplane). AIRPLANE PARTS DEFINITIONS

RADOME A housing for a radar antenna; which is dome like nonmetallic shell, transparent to radio waves.

COCKPIT A compartment in the front of the airplane where the flight crew performs their job of flying the aircraft. FUSELAGE The main body structure of the airplane is fuselage to which all other components (such as wings and empennage) are attached. The fuselage contains the cockpit or flight deck, passenger compartment and cargo compartment.

UNDERCARRIAGE (Landing Gear) The part of an aircraft that provides support while the aircraft is on the ground. It includes wheels, shock absorbers and support struts. There is an undercarriage unit under the nose of the aircraft as well as approximately midway back, under the fuselage. WING A part of an airplane that is attached to the fuselage. Wings are shaped like airfoils and are used to provide lift for the airplane.

There are four basic types of wings: straight, sweep, delta and variable sweep. The straight wing is found mostly on small, low-speed airplanes. General Aviation airplanes often have straight wings. Sailplanes also use a straight wing design. These wings give the most efficient lift at low speeds, but are not very good for high speed flight approaching the speed of sound.

The swept wing (forward swept or sweptback) is the wing design of choice for most modern high speed airplanes. The swept wing design creates less drag, but is somewhat more unstable for flight at low speeds. A commercial jetliner has a moderate sweep. This results in less drag, while maintaining stability at lower speeds. High speed airplanes (like modern jet fighters) have a greater sweep. These airplanes do not generate much lift very during low speed flight. Airplanes with sweep need to take off and land at high speeds.

From above, a delta wing looks like a large triangle. It has a high sweep with a straight, trailing edge. Because of this high sweep, airplanes with this wing are designed to reach supersonic speeds. The landing speed of these delta-winged aircraft is also fairly fast. This wing shape is found on the supersonic transport Concorde and the Space Shuttles.

AILERONS, FLAP, SLATS AND SPOILERS

AILERONS Ailerons are Control surfaces on the trailing edge of each wing that are used to make the aircraft roll. When flying straight and level, moving the control stick to the right will raise the aileron on the right wing and lower the aileron on the left wing. This will cause the aircraft to roll to the right.

FLAPS 3

Flaps are Moveable parts of the trailing edge of a wing that are used to increase lift at slower air speeds. Flaps increase lift by changing the shape of the airfoil. A pilot will extend the flaps when the airplane is landing. By extending the flaps, the pilot is increasing the camber of the wing, the size of the wing and angle of attack. All of these actions will cause lift to decrease so the airplane can land more slowly. FLAP, LEADING EDGE: Hinged section of the under side of the leading edge that, when extended, prevents airflow separation over the top of the wing. Leading edge flaps hinge at the leading edge of the airfoil.

FLAP, TRAILING EDGE: Hinged section of the trailing edge of the wing that can be lowered and extended. When lowered, flaps increase airplane lift at low speeds.

SLATS Slats are movable auxiliary airfoil located on the leading edge of the wings. When closed, it forms part of the normal contour of the wing; when opened it forms a slot and increases lift.

SLOT An elongated passage through a wing whose primary function is to improve the air flow over the wing at high angles of attack.

Flaps and slats are used during takeoff and landing. They enable the airplane to get off the ground quickly and to land slowly. SPOILER

A device, normally located on the top of the wing, for changing the airflow around a wing to reduce lift. Pilots deploy spoilers when they land so that the airplane is no longer "lifted" into the air. They also substantially increase the drag which helps the airplane to slow down.

EMPENNAGE: The aft portion of an aircraft, usually consisting of vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, to which control surfaces such as elevators and rudders are attached.

HORIZONTAL STABILIZER At the rear of the fuselage of most aircraft one finds a horizontal stabilizer and an elevator. The horizontal stabilizer is a fixed wing section whose job is to provide stability for the aircraft, to keep it flying straight. The horizontal stabilizer prevents upand-down, or pitching, motion of the aircraft nose. It is also known as a tailplane. The elevator is the small moving section at the rear of the stabilizer that is attached to the fixed sections by hinges.

ELEVATORS Elevators are Control surfaces on the horizontal part of the tail that are used to make the aircraft pitch. Pulling back on the control stick will raise the elevators. This causes the aircraft to pitch and increase the angle of attack.

VERTICAL STABILIZER At the rear of the fuselage of most aircraft one finds a vertical stabilizer and a rudder. The stabilizer is a fixed wing section whose job is to provide stability for the aircraft, to keep it flying straight. The vertical stabilizer prevents side-to-side, or yawing, motion of the aircraft nose. It is also known as a fin. The rudder is the small moving section at the rear of the stabilizer that is attached to the fixed sections by hinges.

RUDDER Rudder is a control surface on the trailing edge of the vertical stabilizer that is used to make the aircraft yaw. The rudder is controlled by rudder pedals. Pushing the left rudder pedal will tilt the rudder to the left. This will cause the nose of the aircraft to turn to the left. JET ENGINE An engine provides the thrust force that pushes the airplane through the air.

CONTROLLING MOTION
An airplane has three control surfaces: ailerons, elevators and a rudder. Within the cockpit, two controls operate the control surfaces. The control stick controls the ailerons and elevators. The rudder pedals control the rudders. Once in flight, an airplane can have six motions along and around the three axes. TRANSLATIONAL MOTION: Motion along a straight line, such as an axis. The translational motions of an aircraft are forward and back along the longitudinal axis, side to side along the lateral axis, and up and down along the vertical axis. 6

ROTATIONAL MOTION: Pitch, roll and yaw are the rotational motions of an airplane around the lateral, longitudinal and vertical axes. Pitch A rotational motion in which an airplane turns around its lateral axis. Elevators are Control surfaces on the horizontal part of the tail that are used to make the aircraft pitch. Roll A rotational motion in which the aircraft turns around its longitudinal axis. Ailerons are Control surfaces on the trailing edge of each wing that are used to make the aircraft roll. Yaw A rotational motion in which the aircraft turns around its vertical axis. Rudder is a control surface on the trailing edge of the vertical stabilizer that is used to make the aircraft yaw.

FOUR FORCES ON AN AIRPLANE

A force may be thought of as a push or pull in a specific direction. This slide shows the forces that act on an airplane in flight. Weight Weight is the force generated by the gravitational attraction of the earth on the airplane. The weight force pulls an aircraft toward the Earth and must be overcome by a combination of lift and thrust. Lift Lift is an aerodynamic force that is perpendicular to the airflow around an aircraft. In normal flight, the lift force "lifts" the aircraft into the air. But most aircraft lift is generated by the wings. Drag Drag is the aerodynamic force that opposes an aircraft's motion through the air. Drag is generated by every part of the airplane. As the aircraft flies through the air, it resists the motion of the aircraft. This resistance is due to friction between the air molecules and the surface of the aircraft. Factors that affect the magnitude of the drag force including: the shape of the airplane, the "stickiness" of the air, the speed. Thrust Thrust is a mechanical force generated by the engines to move the aircraft through the air. The magnitude of the thrust depends on many factors associated with the propulsion system: type of engine, number of engines, throttle setting, and speed.

SPEED OF SOUND: 8

The speed at which sound waves travel. If you stand a distance away from a friend and say something to him, the sound waves of your voice will travel very quickly to the ear of your friend. The speed of sound is the speed at which those waves traveled. For air, speed of sound varies only with temperature, so that in standard conditions at sea level (150C) the speed of sound is 660kts(1,220 km/h), whereas at 36,000ft(11,000m), where the temperature is -570C, the speed of sound is 570kts(1,060km/h). MACH NUMBER: The ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound is Mach number.

Subsonic The speed of an object less than the speed of sound, i.e. Mach<1. Transonic The speed of the object is equal to the speed of sound the conditions are said to be sonic and Mach=1. Supersonic The speed of an object greater than the speed of sound, i.e. Mach >1. Supersonic aircraft travels from three to four times the speed of sound. Hypersonic The speed of an object greater than five times the speed of sound, i.e. Mach > 5.

AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS 9

FAIRING: An auxiliary structural member shaped to provide a smooth flow of air and reduce drag of a part to which it is fitted.

DOUBLER: A second sheet or plate installed next to the web or skin in a small area subject to high local loads to provide a double thickness of material. A tripler is a third sheet to provide three layers of material.

FRAME: A circumferential structural member in the body that supports the stringers and skin. Used in semimonocoque construction (see MONOCOQUE).

BULKHEAD: A heavy structural member in the fuselage to contain pressures or fluids or to disperse concentrated loads. A heavy circumferential frame that may or may not be entirely closed by a web.

10

LONGERON: A principal longitudinal member of the framing of an aircraft fuselage or nacelle. Usually continuous across a number of points of support.

SKIN: The outside covering of an aircraft. STIFFENER: A metal part, other than flat sheet, formed or extruded and used in the framing of a structure to provide rigidity. [Angle, plate, or channel riveted to a member to prevent buckling.]

11

STRINGER: Longitudinal members in the fuselage or spanwise members in the wing to transmit skin loads into the body frames or wing ribs. [A longitudinal member used to support loads directly.]

STRUT: A structural member that braces or resists compression or tension loads in the direction of its length. On airplanes, the pylons that support the engines are called struts. [A compression member in a framework.]

WEB: A thin-gage plate of sheet, when supported by stiffening angles and framing, provides great shear strength for its weight. Used in many applications throughout an aircraft because of its strength to weight ratio. [The part of a channel, I beam, or girder between the flanges.]

RIB: A light structure conforming to the shape of the airfoil over which the skin is attached and which transfers the air load to the spars. SPARS: 12

A principal spanwise beam in the structure of a wing, stabilizer. It is usually a primary load carrying member in the structure.

CLIP Sometimes called as a bracket. Usually a small angle used to attach light weight parts such as wiring clamps. [ A small angle used to fastening various members together.] CHORD Sometimes called as a cap. A strong member that forms the edges of beam structures or heavy frames. [The principal member of a truss on either the top or bottom.]

SKIDS: A sled-like runner used as part of the landing gear for an aircraft. HAT SECTION: The cross-section shape of the stringers used in the fuselage. A common rolled shape that looks like a top hat with the brim curled up.

SPLICE: 13

A longitudinal connection between the parts of a continuous member. FILLERS: Plate or ring fills used to take up space in riveting two members where a gusset is not used.

14