Academic Knowledge Base

AERODYNAMICS
FORCES & AEROFOIL

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Academic Knowledge Base

Welcome to our Academic Knowledge Base video presentation series. In each presentation we aim to increase your knowledge and understanding of key complicated aviation related subjects. If you have any questions or wish to share feedback, you can e-mail academic@aviationsimulationservices.co.uk

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Forces acting on aircraft in flight.
The key forces acting on aircraft in flight are: Drag Thrust Lift Weight When thrust and drag forces are in equilibrium, an aircraft will maintain a steady speed. For the aircraft to accelerate then the force of thrust must exceed the force of drag. Therefore by the same definition, you would deduce that when lift and weight are equal, an aircraft will maintain a steady level altitude. For the aircraft to climb, lift must exceed the weight of the aircraft.

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Forces acting on aircraft in flight. (Cont.d)

Lift (L) Drag (D) Thrust (T)

Weight (W)

NOTE: In a banked turn, our force for weight is constant, but our force for lift is lost due to the reduction of effective wing span. Therefore, to maintain a steady altitude in the turn, the forces acting for lift must be restored by increasing speed and/ or the angle of attack (we cover angle of attack later) www.aviationsimulationservices.co.uk

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Climbing and Descending
What is Rate of climb / descent? RATE OF CLIMB or RATE OF DESCENT is the vertical component of the velocity of an aircraft and is the time it will take to either climb or descend from a given height. N.B. This is usually expressed as Feet Per Minute.

Example: A Boeing 737 airliner is descending from 35,000ft to 27,000ft to avoid rough weather conditions. The aircraft is descending at a rate of descent of 1,000fpm (feet per minute). Therefore we can can deduce it will take 8 minutes to descend in this scenario.

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The effect of weight on Rate of Descent
Simply: The heavier the aircraft, the greater its rate of descent. Why Well generally a heavier aircraft would fly at a higher airspeed for a given angle of attack and so its rate of descent will be increased.

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Glide Range
What would produce the maximum glide range? Aircraft being flown at its optimal angle of attack and corresponding minimum drag speed (VIMD). What is the effect of weight on the glide range of an aircraft? Contrary to what you may think: the glide range doesnt actually vary with weight, provided, however, that the aircraft is flown at the optimal angle of attack as stated above. This is because the glide range is proportional to the lift-drag ratio which doesnt vary with weight.

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Glide Range (Cont.d)
A Quick Example to explain A Boeing 747-400 (Heavy Aircraft) is flown at the correct angle of attack and speed. A Cessna 182 (Light Aircraft) is flown at the correct angle of attack and speed. Both aircraft will glide the exact same difference! HOWEVER, the heavier aircraft would have a higher airspeed than the light aircraft and therefore, although it would be the same glide range/ distance, it would take less time to do so.

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An Aerofoil
What exactly is an aerofoil? An aerofoil is a body that gives a larger lift force when compared to its drag forces when set at a small angle to a moving airstream. (Think of a wing as generating lift) Aerofoil Chord Line A chord line is the straight line which leads from the leading edge to the trailing edge of an aerofoil. The mean chord line Using the mean as we did in secondary school mathematics, it is simply the wing area divided by the wing span. N.B. This is sometimes known/ referred to as standard mean chord. www.aviationsimulationservices.co.uk

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An Aerofoil (Cont.d)
The mean chamberline The mean chamberline is the line which goes from the leading edge to the trailing edge of equidistance on the upper and lower surfaces of an aerofoil. Angle of Incidence Is the angle between the aerofoils chord line and the aircrafts longitudinal datum. It is a fixed angle for a wing but may be variable for a tailplane. N.B. It may sometimes be referred to as rigging incidence See diagram next for an example of this remember think of an aircraft wing!

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An Aerofoil (Cont.d)

Source: U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission

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THE ANGLE OF ATTACK
Weve already mentioned Angle of Attack quite a bit in this presentation but heres the definition:
The Angle of Attack is the angle between the chord line of an aerofoil and the relative airflow.

Source: U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission

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Additional Info you should know
Washout on a wing This is a decrease in the angle of incidence from the wing root through to the tip. This compensates for the early stall due to the higher levels of loading experienced at the wing tips. Diherdral Dihedral is the upward inclination of a wing from the root to tip. Anhedral Anhedral is the exact opposide of Dihedral, it is the downward inclination of a wing from the root to the tip.

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