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Theory of Flight

PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT

    1  Bernoulli's Theorem
  2  Newton's Laws

FORCES ACTING ON AN AEROPLANE

•   1  Lift
•   2  Drag - induced and parasite
•   3  Relationship of lift and drag to angle of attack
  4  Thrust
  5  Weight
  6  Equilibrium
  7  Centre of pressure
  8  Centrifugal and centripetal
•   9  Forces acting on an aircraft during manoeuvres
•   10  Relationship of load factor to stalling speed
•   11  Structural limitations
  12  Gust loads

AEROFOILS

  1  Pressure distribution about an aerofoil
•   2  Relative airflow and angle of attack
  3  Downwash
  4  Wing tip vortices
  5  Angle of incidence

PROPELLERS

    1  Propeller efficiency at various speeds
  2  Fixed and variable pitch
  3  Torque, slipstream, gyroscopic effect and asymmetric thrust

DESIGN OF THE WING

  1  Wing planform
  2  Area, span, chord
  3  Aspect ratio
  4  Streamlining
  5  Camber
  6  Laminar flow
  7  Dihedral, anhedral
  8  Wash in, wash out
  9  Slots, slats
  10  Wing fences, stall strips
  11  Spoilers
•   12  Flaps
  13  Canards

STABILITY

•   1  Longitudinal, lateral and directional stability
  2  Inherent stability
  3  Methods of achieving stability

FLIGHT CONTROLS

    1  Aeroplane axes and planes of movement
  2  Functions of controls
  3  Relationship between effects of yaw and roll
  4  Adverse yaw, aileron drag
  5  Static and dynamic balancing of controls
  6  Trim and trimming devices
Date modified:
2010-06-16