Private Pilot Ground School

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Private Pilot Ground School

• Chris Tavenner CFI/MEII
• www.tractorking.com

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Aircraft Control Surfaces
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Flaps

• Flaps increase lift and create drag allowing a
  greater rate of decent without increasing
  airspeed.
• Flaps are located on the trailing edge of the
  wing.

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Aileron

• Ailerons bank the aircraft along the longitudinal
  axis by inducing greater lift.
• Connected to the yoke via cables and pulley's.
• Located on the outboard trailing edge of the wing

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Rudder

• Rudder controls the direction of the aircraft
  about the yaw axis.
• Connected to the Rudder pedals via cable and
  pulleys.
• Rudder is located on the trailing edge of the
  vertical stabilizer.

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Elevator

• The Elevator controls the pitch attitude of the
  aircraft about the lateral axis
• Connected to the Yoke via cable and pulleys.
• Located on the trailing edge of the horizontal
  stabilizer
• Usually adjusted with Elevator Trim Tabs.

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Four Forces of Flight

• Lift-Upward
• Thrust-Forward
• Weight-Downward
• Drag-Backward
• All forces are equal in straight and level flight.

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Stalls

• A stall occurs when the Critical Angle of Attack
  has been exceeded.
• The Critical Angle of Attack is when the air can
  no longer flow over the top of the wing and lift
  diminished.

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Spins

• A spin occurs when one wing is less stalled than
  the other.
• A plane must be stalled in order to spin

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Ground Effect

• Airplanes experience Ground Effect approximately
  one wing length from the surface.
• Ground effect increases lift without
  corresponding drag increase
• Ground effect causes the aircraft to float longer
  during landing
• Ground effect can also cause an aircraft to
  become airborne before proper takeoff airspeed
  has been acquired.

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Turns in an Airplane

• Banking the aircraft creates a Horizontal
  Component of Lift.
• The Rudder and Aileron are used to maintain
  coordinated turn and eliminate adverse yaw.

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Aircraft Stability

• Inherently stable aircraft will return to to
  straight and level flight.
• Center of Gravity affects longitudinal stability
  of the aircraft.
• Rearward CGless stable/more maneuverable,
  difficult to recover from a stall, shorter take
  off roll, more efficient.
• Forward CG more stable/less maneuverable, harder
  to flare for landing, longer takeoff roll, less
  efficient.

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Aircraft Stability

• CG is always forward of the Center of Lift
• Horizontal stabilizer creates a downward lifting
  action.

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LEFT TURNING TENDENCIES
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Torque

• Newton's third law- For every action there is an
  equal and opposite reaction.
• Greatest at- Low Airspeeds, High Power settings,
  High Angles of Attack takeoff

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P-Factor

• Yawing tendency due to asymmetrical propeller
  loading.
• At high angles of attack the descending blade has
  more bite, providing more thrust.
• Creates a adverse yaw to the left that must be
  corrected with right rudder input

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Propeller Slipstream

• Effect of the airflow created by the spinning
  propeller striking the tail of the aircraft.
• Causes aircraft to Yaw Left

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Gyroscopic Precession

• Reaction of a gyroscope in motion.
• Force is felt 90 degrees ahead of the direction
  of rotation.
• Creates a left yawing tendency, especially
  noticeable in tail wheel aircraft

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LOAD FACTOR

• Additional weight carried by the wings due to
  centrifugal force.
• Load Factor can increase stall speed.
• As Bank angle increases load factor increases