Airplane Parts and Theory of Flight

7/28/2019 Airplane Parts and Theory of Flight

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Overview

• Yaw, Pitch, and Roll

• Airplane Parts

• Four Forces

• Bernoulli’s Principle



Yaw, Pitch, and Roll

• Yaw – side to side

• Pitch – up and down

• Roll – rolling motion



Airplane Parts

• Fuselage

• Wings

• Ailerons• Flaps

• Rudder

• Horizontal Stabilizer • Vertical Stabilizer

• Elevator

P-51D Mustang



Airplane Parts continued…

• Propeller

• Engine

• Engine Cowel

• Cockpit

• Landing Gear

• Nose Gear

• Spinner

P-38



Fuselage

• The body of the airplane that all the

other parts are attached to.

• Can be made of many differentsubstances such as aluminum or wood.

Wood Fuselage

of Model

Airplane



Wings

• The part of the plane that creates lift

and controls roll.

• Has a rounded leading edge andtapered trailing edge which helps

create lift.

• The wing design uses Bernoulli’sPrinciple.

Wing

http://buffalo.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=33589066&id=15725600



Ailerons

• Located at the top of the trailing edge

of the wings.

• Controls roll.

• Move up and down to control the

direction of wind blowing over and

under it.



Flaps

• Located near at the trailing edge of the

wing near the fuselage.

• The Flaps increase lift.

Flaps




Rudder

• Provides side to side control of airplane.

• Controls yaw.

• Used for maneuvers in the air and fortaxiing on runway.

Rudder




Horizontal Stabilizer

• Horizontal with the fuselage.

• Helps airplane maintain level flight.

Horizontal

Stabilizer

http://www.weekendcfii.com/photos/citabria/03X_horiz_stab.jpg



Vertical Stabilizer

• Vertical to the horizontal stabilizer.

• Helps to airplane maintain level flight.

Vertical

Stabilizer




Elevator

• In line with and behind the horizontal

stabilizer.

• Controls pitch.

Elevator




Propeller

• Uses the principle of a wing to create

thrust to move the airplane forward.

• Can have different number of blades onpropeller.

• Design is similar to an airfoil.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.after5catalog.com/images/products/009-05005b1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.after5catalog.com/product_info.php/cPath/47_52/products_id/12&h=300&w=300&sz=8&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=CrgcuJK9QVHE7M:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dairplane%2Bpropeller%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7GGIC%26sa%3DN



Engine

• Turns the propeller at high RPM’s to

increase thrust.

Cessna

Skyhawk EngineJet Engine

Model Airplane

Engine




Engine Cowel

• A cover to protect the engine and make

the plane aerodynamic.

Top View Side View

Engine Cowel


http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/reviews/714/cowelCutSide.jpg

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/reviews/714/cowelCut.jpg



Cockpit

• Place where the pilot controls the

airplane and where passengers sit.

• The airplane control, gauges, andindicators are held here.






Landing Gear

• A frame with wheels that allow theplane to takeoff and land.

• Some airplanes have retractablelanding gear. Landing Gear




Nose Gear

• The front landing gear when the plane

has three wheels to land.

Boeing 757

Nosegear

Nosegear




Spinner

• A pointed cone available attached to

the propeller to reduce air drag.

• Available in different sizes.

Spinner



Airplane Parts Overview



Four Forces

• Lift - Provides the force to overcome gravity and

raise the airplane.

• Gravity - Invisible force from the Earth that pullsall things down.

• Thrust – Force that moves the airplane forward; it

overcomes drag.

• Drag- Friction of air on all the planes outer

surfaces to slow it down.



Four Forces Diagram



Thrust

• The airflow over the wings that is neededto generate lift is caused by thrusting the

aircraft forwards through the air.• Thrust is therefore the forward force

acting on an aircraft

• It is produced by the engines by throwingair backwards



Thrust

• Either a propeller can do this, or air can beexpelled from the rear (in the case of a jet

engine)



Drag

• When you’re on a bicycle, the faster yougo the more resistance you encounter

• The force which hinders your progress iscalled drag

• The same can be said for aircraft.

• Every part of the aircraft over which airflows produces drag which resists forwardmotion



Drag

• Thus the more drag there is, the morethrust isHowever to get more thrust you

need a bigger engine, more fuel and moreweight, and therefore more expense

• The aircraft’s designer wants to make the

aircraft fly at the best possible speed forthe available thrust

• Therefore he will try and reduce drag



Causes of Drag

• The shape of the aircraft causes a greatdeal of drag

• When any object moves through the air itis accompanied by a ‘wake’ of complicatededdies and vortices

• In flight, engine power which should beused for forward power is wasted inmaking these vortices



Drag

Here is an extreme

example: a flat plate

in an airflow.

The drag is greatest at

90° to the airflow

The drag is least when

it is parallel to the airflow



Thrust and Dragin Straight and Level Flight

thrust drag

•When thrust = drag, the aircrafttravels a constant speed.

•When thrust is greater than drag, theaircraft accelerates

•When drag is greater than thrust, the

aircraft slows down.



Bernoulli’s Principle

• As the wing passes through the air, the

curved upper part makes the air speed

up because it has further to go than air passing under the wing.

• As the air speeds up on top of the wing,

low pressure is created. The higher pressure under the wing creates lift.



Bernoulli’s Principle Diagram



Review Questions

• What part of the airplane is most important?

• What are the ailerons job?

• Where are the flaps located?• What does an engine cowel do?

• What is a spinner?

•What are the four forces?

• What is lift?

• What is Bernoulli’s principle?



References

• NASA website www.nasa.gov

• www.aviation-history.com

http://www.aviation-history.com/




Airplane Parts and Theory of Flight

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