~ Aviation Management ~

Ch. 3 Vocab. [Private Pilot]

~ Chapter 3 - A;

Lift; key aerodynamic force which opposes weight

Weight; opposes lift, caused by downward pull of gravity

Thrust; forward force that propels the plane through the air

Drag; opposes thrust, a backward, or retarding force that limits the speed

Vectors; arrows showing the forces in act on the plane

Newton's three laws of motion; 

1.) A body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain moving at the same speed in the same direction.

2.) The acceleration of an object is proportional to the force acting upon it and is directed in the direction of the force.

3.) To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Bernoulli's principle; as the velocity of a fluid/air increases, its internal pressure decreases

Venturi; air flowing through a tube that is narrower in the middle that it is at the ends

Airfoil; any surface, including the wing, that can provide aerodynamic force when interacting with a moving stream of air.

Upwash; deflection of oncoming airstream upward over the wing

Leading edge; part of the airfoil that airflow first

Trailing edge; portion of the airflow where the airflow over the upper surface rejoins the lower surface airflow

Downwash; downward deflection of airstream passing over the wing and trailing edge

Relative wind; airflow parallel and opposite to the flight path

Angle of attack; angle between the chord line of the airfoil and direction of the relative wind

Chord line; imaginary straight line drawn through the airfoil from the leading to trailing edge

Camber; characteristic curve of the airfoil's upper and lower surfaces

Coefficient of lift (CL); a way to measure lift as relating to angle of attack; determined by wind tunnel tests and based on airfoil design and angle of attack.

Stall; caused by the separation of airflow from the wings upper surface, resulting in rapid decrease in lift.

Critical angle of attack; when a stall always occurs at the same angle, regardless of airspeed, flight attitude, or weight.

Aspect ratio; relationship between the length and width of a wing.

Wing area; total surface area of the wings

Planform; shape of the plane wing when viewed from above/below

Angle of incidence; where the wing is mounted on the plane attached to the fuselage with the chord line inclined upward at a slight angle.

Stall strips; consisting of two metal strips attached to the leading edge of each wing near the fuselage.

Flaps; increase the lifting efficiency of the wing and decreases stall speed.

Configuration; position of the landing gear and flaps.

Plain flap; attached to the wing by a hinge.

Split flap; hinged only to the lower portion of the wing.

Slotted flap; similar to the plain flap, allowing a portion of the higher pressure air beneath the wing to travel through a slot.