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Aircraft flight mechanics are relevant to fixed wing (gliders, aeroplanes) and rotary wing (helicopters) aircraft. An aeroplane ( airplane in US usage), is defined in ICAO Document 9110 as, "a power-driven heavier than air aircraft, deriving its lift chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surface which remain fixed under given conditions of flight".
Main forces acting on a heavier-than-air aircraft. Forces relevant to flight are [22] Propulsive thrust (except in gliders) Lift, created by the reaction to an airflow; Drag, created by aerodynamic friction; Weight, created by gravity; Buoyancy, for lighter than air flight; These forces must be balanced for stable flight to occur.
The wind frame is a convenient frame to express the aerodynamic forces and moments acting on an aircraft. In particular, the net aerodynamic force can be divided into components along the wind frame axes, with the drag force in the − x w direction and the lift force in the − z w direction.
The flight dynamics of spacecraft differ from those of aircraft in that the aerodynamic forces are of very small, or vanishingly small effect for most of the vehicle's flight, and cannot be used for attitude control during that time. Also, most of a spacecraft's flight time is usually unpowered, leaving gravity as the dominant force.
Forces of flight on a powered aircraft in unaccelerated level flight. Understanding the motion of air around an object (often called a flow field) enables the calculation of forces and moments acting on the object. In many aerodynamics problems, the forces of interest are the fundamental forces of flight: lift, drag, thrust, and weight. Of ...
A flight control mode or flight control law is a computer software algorithm that transforms the movement of the yoke or joystick, made by an aircraft pilot, into movements of the aircraft control surfaces. The control surface movements depend on which of several modes the flight computer is in.
The forces that cause these changes in the direction of flow of the jet cause an equal and opposite force on the surface along which the jet flows. [8] These Coandă effect induced forces can be harnessed to cause lift and other forms of motion, depending on the orientation of the jet and the surface to which the jet adheres. [7]
The stalling angle of attack is less in ground effect, by approximately 2–4 degrees, than in free air. [ 23 ] [ 24 ] When the flow separates there is a large increase in drag. If the aircraft overrotates on take-off at too low a speed the increased drag can prevent the aircraft from leaving the ground.