Chapter 3 Principles of Flight

The Atmosphere
–
 The Atmosphere
–
™ An envelope of air that surrounds the Earth and rests
upon its surface.
™ A part of the Earth as the seas or the land.
™ It has mass, weight, and indefinite shape.
™ 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases, such
as argon or helium.
™ Air, like fluid, is able to flow and change shape when
subjected to even minute pressures because it lacks
strong molecular cohesion.
Figure 3-1 The Atmosphere
 Atmospheric Pressure
–
™ The compression of air
™ One of the basic factors in weather changes
™ Helps to lift an aircraft
™ Actuates some of the important flight instruments
(altimeter, airspeed indicator, vertical speed
indicator, and manifold pressure gauge)
™ Varies with time and location
™ International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) or ICAO
Standard Atmosphere
Figure 3-2 Barometer and Standard sea level pressure
Figure 3-3 Properties of standard atmosphere
 Pressure Height
–
™ The height in the ISA above the 1,013.2 hPa Pressure
level at which the pressure equals that of the aircraft
or point under cosideration
™ 1 millibar (mb) = 1 hectoPascal (hPa)
™ Decreases of 1 hPa / 30 ft gain in height
™ QNH – barometric pressure adjusted to sea level
 Pressure Height
–
™ Example 1 QNH is 1005 hPa and the aeroplane is on
the ground at an aerodrome, elevation 20 ft. Find the
pressure height.
™ Example 2 QNH is 1030 hPa and the aeroplane is on
the ground at an aerodrome, elevation 20 ft. Find the
pressure height.
™ Example 3 An aircraft is cruising at 5,000 ft with
QNH (actual MSL pressure) 1027 hPa set in the
subscale. Find the pressure height.
 Density
–
™ Weight per unit of volume
™ The density of gases is governed by the following
rules:
1.  Density varies in direct proportion with the pressure.
2.  Density varies inversely with the temperature.
™ Aeroplane and engine performance depends upon
air density
 Humidity
–
™ The amount of water vapor in the air
™ The maximum amount of water vapor that air can
hold varies with the temperature
™ The higher the temperature of the air, the more water
vapor it can absorb
™ The density of the air varies inversely with the
humidity
™ On damp days, air density is less than on dry days
™ An aircraft requires a longer runway for takeoff on
damp days than it does on dry days.
 Theories in the
Production of Lift
–
 Bernoulli’s Principle
–
™ As the velocity of a moving fluid increases, the
pressure within the fluid decreases
™ As the wing moves through the air, the flow of air
across the curved top surface increases in velocity
creating a low-pressure area.
™ Problems with Bernoulli
–  The amount of pressure drop produced by the curve of
the wing was not enough to support most airplane in
flight
–  A flat or symmetrical wing will produce lift
Figure 3-4 Bernoulli’s principle
 Newton’s Laws
–
™ 1st : Every object persists in its state of rest or uniform
motion in a straight line unless it is compelled to
change that state by forces impressed on it
™ 2nd : Force is equal to the change in momentum per
change in time. For a constant mass, force equals
mass times acceleration
™ 3rd : For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction
™ The lift is created as reaction to the air being
deflected downwards (downwash)
Figure 3-5 A helicopter pushes air down
Figure 3-6 Base on Newton’s laws, this wing has no lift
Figure 3-7 The airflow around a real wing with lift
Figure 3-8 Forces on the air and the corresponding reaction forces on the wing
Figure 3-9 A jet flying over fog demonstrates downwash
Airfoil Design
–
 Airfoil
–
™  A slice of a wing as viewed in cross section
™  Airfoil terminology
1.  Chord line: a straight line connecting the leading edge and the
trailing edge of the airfoil
2.  Chord: the length of chord line
3.  Mean camber line: a line draw halfway between upper surface
and the lower surface
4.  Maximum camber: the maximum distance between the mean
camber line and the chord line
5.  Maximum thickness: the maximum distance between the
upper and lower surfaces
6.  Leading edge radius: a measure of the sharpness of leading
edge
Figure 3-10 Airfoil section
Figure 3-11 Airfoil terminology
 Airfoil’s Shape
–
™ Different airfoils have different flight characteristics
™ The shape of airfoil
–  Aircraft weight
–  Aircraft speed
–  Purpose of aircraft
Figure 3-12. Airfoil designs
 Boundary Layer
–
™ In physics and fluid mechanics
–  The layer of fluid in the immediate vicinity of a
bounding surface
™ In relation to an aircraft
–  The part of the air flow closest to the surface of the
aircraft.
™ Two types of boundary layer flow
–  Laminar
–  Turbulent.
Figure 3-13 The boundary layer
Figure 3-14 How the air speed changes in boundary layer
 Boundary Layer Flow
–
™ Laminar Boundary Layer Flow
–  a very smooth flow
–  less skin friction drag, but is less stable
–  flow over a wing surface begins as laminar flow
–  As the flow continues, increases in layer thickness.
™ Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow
–  contains swirls or eddies
–  energizing the boundary layer
Figure 3-15 Boundary layer flow
 About the Angle
–
™ Angle of incidence (or angle of wing setting)
–  the wing chord makes with the longitudinal axis of the
aircraft
–  In most cases is a fixed, built-in angle
–  Positive: leading edge is higher than trailing edge
–  Negative: leading edge is lower than trailing edge
™ Angle of Attack (AOA)
–  Angle between the chord line and the direction of the
relative wind
Figure 3-16 Angle of incidence
Figure 3-17 Angle of attack
 Pressure Distribution
–
™ Center of pressure CP
–  Average of the pressure variation for any given AOA
™ An airplane’s aerodynamic balance and
controllability are governed by changes in the CP
™ Angle increases, the CP moves forward
™ Angle decreases, the CP moves back
™ The unstable travel of the CP is characteristic of
almost all airfoils.
Figure 3-18(A) Effect on increasing angle of attack
Figure 3-18(B) Effect on increasing angle of attack
Figure 3-18(C) Effect on increasing angle of attack
Figure 3-18(D) Effect on increasing angle of attack
 A Third Dimension
–
™ Wing tip vortex
–  An aerodynamic effect on the tip of the airfoil
–  A rotating flow
–  Reduction in lift
™ Counteract the vortex
–  Winglets
™  Prevent the vortex from forming
–  Tapering the airfoil tip
™  Reducing the pressure differential and smoothing the
airflow around the tip
Figure 3-19 Tip vortex