Aviation

Principles of Flight

AVMF 2153: Principles of Flight

There had been an increasing number of independent student enrollments in the Principles of Flight course by individuals interested in obtaining private pilot certification.  This growing interest, which would lend itself to online delivery, prompted a market viability study. The results confirmed that not only would the market sustain an online ground school course for non-credit seeking general public, but also a for-credit course for existing undergraduate students registered to take AVMF 2150 (3-credit hour course in degree program).

This interactive online learning experience is therefore designed to prepare participants for taking the FAA Private Pilot Certification Test by reviewing essential concepts including aerodynamics, FAA regulations, aircraft systems, and more, with opportunities throughout the course to practice important skills and test their knowledge on the concepts presented.

 

Key Features

There are a number of features that make this course more engaging.  

  • Custom Animations 
  • Interactive Manipulatives
  • Focused Simulation

If you need a similar solution in your course, let the Auburn Online team help.

Explore

Explore the tabs below to see some sample content and interactivity from this course.

Custom Animations

 

Interactive Manipulatives

Stage I

Lesson 2: Aircraft Construction and Flight Controls

Lesson Objectives

The student will understand the parts of the training airplane, the airplane’s structure, and the airplane's flight control system.

Reference Material

Overview

Now that you have a better understanding of the requirements to become pilot and the certification process, you need to know the different aircraft components and structures, as well as the aircraft surfaces that are considered to be the flight controls.

Aircraft Structure

  • 2.1 Lift and Basic Aerodynamics
  • 2.2. Major Components
  • 2.3 Subcomponents
  • 2.4 Types of Aircraft Construction
  • 2.5 Instrumentation

Flight Controls

  • 2.6 Primary Flight Controls
  • 2.7 Secondary Flight Controls

 2.2 Major Components

  • 2.2 Major Components

    Now that you have a basic understanding of the physics of flight (which we will delve into deeper in later lessons), you should know the major components of any aircraft.

    Fuselage

    The fuselage is the central body of the aircraft.  It is where the people and the cargo are housed.  There are three main types of construction (from left to right):

    1. Warren Truss
    2. Monocoque
    3. Semimonocoque
    Click the hotspots below to read more about each of these types of fuselage construction.

    By Tosaka [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 

    Wings

    The wings are airfoils attached to each side of the aircraft fuselage and are designed to lift the aircraft. Spars are the main center beam of the wing which go all the way through to the other side in order to connect both wings together. Each wing has ribs with holes that take most of the stress and determine the shape and thickness of the wing.  The stringers provide additional rigidity and strength, while still allowing enough flexibility to absorb the stress caused by turbulence and hard landings.

    The skin wraps around the outside, usually made of aluminum or composite materials due to their lightweight and rust-resistant properties.  Almost all aircraft have fuel tanks housed in the wings, usually closer towards the fuselage. To the rear of the wing are the control surfaces. Ailerons on the outer edge allow the aircraft to roll, while the flaps on the inner edge (or groove) move down to increase lift for takeoff and landing. Then, there is also the wing tip, which is the farthest away from the fuselage. 

    Different wing designs are built with a specific aerodynamic purpose and for a specific category and/or class of aircraft. There are straight wings which are like boxes. Elliptical wings have a rounded shape. Tapered wings have a straight shape that tapers off on the edge. Most airliners have swept back wings which are angled backwards instead of straight out. There are also delta wings. These are designed for supersonic flight and can be found on the concord planes.

    Empennage

    The empennage is the entire tail group which includes fixed surfaces like the vertical and horizontal stabilizers and movable surfaces like the rudder or the elevator and one or more trim tabs. 

    Landing Gear

    There are several different types of landing gear, including tricycle, tailwheel, floats, and skis.

    First off, there are two different types of landing gear sets: tricycle (what we have on Auburn's C-172s) and tail-wheel. Tail-wheel sets are located on the tail of the aircraft rather than one in the front. Some are retractable, while some are are stuck hanging off the bottom of the aircraft. There are advantages and disadvantages of both of them. Pulling the gear up allows you to have less drag, but there’s a maintenance cost involved in making sure the gear comes down when you need it to -- if it doesn’t unfold, you won't have any gear to land on. There are also skis and floats for landing on snow, ice, and water. Most planes that have floats have little wheels in the front and back so that they can land on a runaway just like any other plane.

    Powerplant

    The powerplant consists of an engine that uses aircraft fuel to run the propeller. The powerplant is the major component of the aircraft build to generate enough thrust to lift it into the air. 

    2.5 Instrumentation

    Magnetic Compass

    Our compass is on the dash. Notice that it is a circle with 360 degrees. North is at 360 degrees. The compass is magnetic and will indicate the direction you are traveling in degrees of North, South, East and West. 

    Gyroscopic Instruments

    The attitude indicator tells us our location relative to the horizon. It lets us know if we’re pitching up or down, turning left or turning right. The heading indicator tells us the direction we are heading in, but it is more stable than a compass. The turn coordinator tells us the rate that the airplane is turning either left or right. The turn-slip indicator is what you reference to know if your nose and your tail are aligned. If the ball in the instrument slides to the right, then we have to step on the right rudder so our nose can yaw to the right.

    Pitot-Static Instruments

    Pitot-static is a system of instruments that indicate speed and altitude. It includes an airspeed indicator that tells us, just like a speedometer in a car, how fast the plane is moving. It measures in knots, a speed generally associated with the speed of boats. There is also an altimeter to tell us how high we are above ground. Last, there is the vertical speed indicator (VSI); it tells us how fast we are climbing or descending in feet per minute. While the airspeed indicator relies on both RAM air and static air, the altimeter and VSI only rely on static to make their measurements. 

    VFR Instruments

    VFR instruments are the ones that the FAA requires you to have in order to fly in accordance with visual flight rules (VFR) during the day. The mnemonic to remember the list of required items for daytime flight is "A TOMATO FLAMES." 

2.6 Primary Flight Controls

The primary flight controls allow us to fly the aircraft, turn left or right, and go up or down. We have ailerons on the edges of the wing, the rudder, and the elevator or the stabilator on each aircraft.

 

Self Check

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Below is a series of multiple choice questions. Click the correct answer and then click the Check button. Proceed to the next question by clicking the forward arrow.

 

Focused Simulation

Turn Performance Interactive Practice Activity

Level 1 Introduction:

Oh no! You have mistakenly headed off course and ended up flying into a gorge. After realizing your error, your challenge is to safely navigate your way through to the other side which is xxx feet long.  The distance from one side of the gorge to the other is xxx feet wide, too narrow to turn around in without crashing into one of the walls. Use your understanding of turn performance to set the airspeed and bank angle to make it out in one piece.  If you need some help, ask your co-pilot!

Expected Learning Outcome

To understand the relationship between the aircraft’s speed and bank angle determine the rate and radius of turns.

References

Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge - Chapter on Aerodynamics of Flight

  • Aerodynamic Forces in Flight Maneuvers (Forces in Turns)
  • Load Factors (Rate of Turn and Radius of Turn)

Constant Variables

  • Weight
  • Load Factor
  • Width of turn area
  • Altitude

Inputs from User

  • Enter the AIRSPEED (in knots)
  • Enter the BANK ANGLE (in degrees)

Potential Outcomes

  • Safe turn
  • Overshot
  • Stall and spin

Formulas

The rate of turn (ROT) is the number of degrees (expressed in degrees per second) of heading change that an aircraft makes. The ROT can be determined by taking the constant of 1,091, multiplying it by the tangent of any bank angle and dividing that product by a given airspeed in knots. Airspeed significantly effects an aircraft’s ROT. For any given bank angle, the ROT varies with the airspeed—the higher the speed, the slower the ROT. Once the ROT is understood, a pilot can determine the distance required to make that particular turn which is explained in radius of turn.

The radius of turn is directly linked to the ROT, which explained earlier is a function of both bank angle and airspeed. The radius of turn (R) is equal to the velocity squared (V2) divided by 11.26 times the tangent of the bank angle. Another way to determine the radius of turn is speed in using feet per second (fps), π (3.1415) and the ROT. An aircraft’s speed (in knots) can be converted to fps by multiplying it by a constant of 1.69.

For a coordinated, constant altitude turn, the approximate maximum bank for the average general aviation aircraft is 60°.

An aircraft’s stalling speed increases in proportion to the square root of the load factor.

Hints

For the first level:

  • The relationship between the aircraft’s speed and bank angle determine the rate and radius of turns.
  • Radius of Turn (R):
    • R = v2 / (11.26 * tangent of bank angle)
    • A higher airspeed causes the aircraft to travel through a longer arc
    • If speed is doubled, the radius is quadrupled
    • Intercepting a course at a higher speed requires more distance, and therefore, requires a longer lead
    • As bank increases, the radius of turn increases
    • As bank decreases, the radius of turn decreases
  • Another way to determine the radius of turn is speed using feet per second (fps), π (3.1415), and the ROT.
    • R = (speed in fps * (360/ROT)) / (Pi/2)
    • The standard rate of turn is 3 degrees per second.
    • An aircraft’s speed (in knots) can be converted to fps by multiplying it by a constant of 1.69.
  • Turn Coordination:
    • Do not exceed the bank angle limitation in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH)
    • Airspeed is the most influential factor in determining how much distance is required to turn.
    • Many pilots have made the error of increasing the steepness of their bank angle when a simple reduction in speed would have been more appropriate.

For the second level that is timed:

  • Rate of Turn (ROT):
    • ROT = 1,091 * tangent of the bank angle / airspeed in knots
    • Airspeed significantly effects an aircraft’s ROT
    • As speed increases, the rate of turn decreases
    • As speed decreases, the rate of turn increases
    • The rule of thumb for determining the standard rate of turn is to divide the airspeed by ten and add 7
    • The standard rate of turn is 3 degrees per second.

*Weight and Balance (Next Iteration)

The aircraft loses altitude unless additional lift is created. This is done by increasing the AOA until the vertical component of lift is again equal to the weight. Since the vertical component of lift decreases as the bank angle increases, the AOA must be progressively increased to produce sufficient vertical lift to support the aircraft’s weight. An important fact for pilots to remember when making constant altitude turns is that the vertical component of lift must be equal to the weight to maintain altitude.

 

 Below is an image of the planned opening activity window and a video of a simulation test run.