This document provides an overview of basic aerodynamics and flight controls. It explains the four main forces that act on aircraft - lift, gravity/weight, thrust, and drag. It describes how control surfaces like the ailerons, elevators, and rudder are used to control the aircraft's roll, pitch, and yaw. Finally, it gives a brief tour of common flight instruments that provide information to pilots like airspeed, altitude, heading, and vertical speed. The goal is to help readers understand how aircraft fly and how pilots control and navigate them.

1. Welcome
B a s ic A e r o d y n a m ic s
a n d F lig h t C o n t r o ls
1

2. Learning Objectives
At the end of this course, you will be able to…
v Explain the four basic aerodynamic forces that
act on aircraft
v Understand how these forces relate to and
interact with each other
v Identify common flight controls on aircraft
v Explain the affect that each control has on the
flight of an aircraft
v Identify hybrid flight controls of advanced
aircraft
2

3. Four Basic Forces
3

4. Four Basic Forces
Lift
Bernoulli’s Principle:
v An increase in the velocity of any fluid is always
accompanied by a decrease in pressure.
v Since air behaves like a fluid,
Bernoulli’s Principle applies.
v Any time air moves, its
pressure is lower than when it
is still.
v The faster air moves,
the lower its pressure.
4

5. Four Basic Forces
Lift
Air traveling over the curved surface of
a wing has farther to go than air going under.
v Air above must move
lift faster in order to get to the
back at the same time as
the air underneath.
v Faster air means pressure
over the wing drops.
v The low pressure above
the wing lifts it up!
5

6. Four Basic Forces
GRAVITY
Gravity / Weight:
v All objects have mass, but the weight of an
object is the result of the force of gravity acting
on the mass.
v Since the force applied to the aircraft is the
same, gravity and weight are equivalent for our
purposes.
6

7. Four Basic Forces
GRAVITY
Center of Gravity:
v The average weight of all parts, fuel, and
payload is called the center of gravity.
v In flight, the aircraft rotates about the
center of gravity.
7

8. Four Basic Forces
GRAVITY
(D1*W1) + (D2*W2) + (D3*W3) + (D4*W4) + (D5*W5)
Distance to CG =
Total Weight
8

9. Four Basic Forces
v The purpose of thrust is to
Thrust
overcome drag, not to lift the
aircraft: A million pound
airliner has 4 engines that
produce a total of only
200,000 pounds of thrust.
The wings are doing the
lifting, not the engines.
v The direction of thrust
depends on the type of
engine and where they are
attached.
9

10. Four Basic Forces
drag
Definition of Drag:
v Drag is a mechanical force generated by a solid
object moving through a liquid.
v It results from the difference in velocity between
the object and the fluid.
v It can be considered to be aerodynamic friction
that opposes the movement of the aircraft.
v In layman’s terms it is often known as wind
resistance.
10

11. Four Basic Forces
drag
Types of Drag:
v Induced drag - Occurs whenever a lifting body
or a wing or generates lift.
v Caused by air under the wing slipping around the
wingtip to form a vortex which travels out behind the
wing creating drag.
v Also caused by downward force of wind leaving the
trailing edge of the wing. More drag is thus
produced at higher angles of attack.
11

12. Four Basic Forces
drag
Types of Drag:
v Parasitic drag
v Results from the aircraft pushing air out of the way
(form drag).
v Also caused by the friction of air against the actual
surface of the aircraft (skin friction).
v Air vortices caused by some surfaces or structures
on the plane can also cause interference drag.
12

13. In the Cockpit
A Guide to Basic Flight Controls
13

14. The flight controls and instrument panel
are in the front of the cockpit.
14

15. Flight controls and instrument panels
vary, but have the same basic functions
“Glass Cockpit” Side Sticks
15

16. The control wheel or yoke is used
to steer the airplane in different directions.
Turning Left Straight and Level Turning Right
Side Stick Some airplanes have a stick rather
than a wheel. Moving the stick to
the right or left is like turning the
wheel, and moving it forward and
backward is like pushing the wheel
forward and back.
16

17. Moving the yoke (or pushing the stick) left or
right moves the ailerons in opposite directions
Turning Right
One moves up while the other moves down
17

18. The ailerons control roll
18

19. Pulling back or pushing forward on the yoke
moves the elevators up or down
Climbing
Pulling back on yoke
moves elevators up,
causing tail to drop and
nose to rise.
19

20. Elevators control pitch
20

21. Pressing rudder pedals on the floor moves the
rudder left or right to aid turns
Brakes are
located at the
top or “toe” of
the pedal
Rudder controls yaw
21

22. The airspeed indicator shows speed
through the air --- not over the ground
The pitot tube on
the wing catches
on-rushing air. This
“ram air” is
compared to static
air to determine air
speed.
The static port
measures still air that
is not affected by the
airplane’s speed
through the air
22

23. The attitude indicator provides an artificial
horizon to show the pilot the airplane’s
position in relation to the ground
Here, the airplane is banking
left with its nose on the
horizon —where brown
“ground” meets blue “sky.”
23

24. The altimeter measures air pressure outside the
airplane and compares it to air pressure at sea
level to determine altitude
Like clock hands, the long
hand shows smaller
increments (100s of feet) while
the shorter hand shows larger
increments (1,000s of feet).
This altimeter reads 1720 feet.
24

25. The turn coordinator shows if the wings are
level or banked. The position of the ball
indicates if the airplane is turning properly
Turn Coordinator
The ball is centered when
the turn is balanced by
rudder
25

26. The heading indicator displays the
direction of flight
This airplane is heading
south at 175 degrees.
26

27. The vertical speed indicator uses changes in air
pressure to indicate rate of climb or descent
Airplane is descending at
190 feet per minute
27

28. Radios help communicate with air traffic control
(ATC) and other pilots. Other radios help
navigate using ground stations or satellites.
28

29. Most airplanes have a radar transponder that
shows their location, speed and altitude to ATC
An assigned four-digit code
helps identify a particular
airplane on a controller’s radar
screen
29

30. Pilots increasingly use GPS satellite navigation
GPS can be small, handheld and
portable.
Flat-panel GPS moving maps and
flight displays are just like the
ones in airliners and some cars.
GPS can be used to
display position and
ground speed, locate
nearby airports, and plot
course, distance and
time to any destination
30