Airplane Stuff
What force pulls an aircraft toward Earth?
Gravity
What is the difference between indicated airspeed and true airspeed?
Indicated airspeed is what the aircraft’s airspeed indicator shows; true airspeed is the aircraft’s actual speed through the surrounding air.
What force opposes an aircraft’s forward motion through the air?
Drag
What force moves an aircraft forward?
Thrust
What is relative wind
The airflow opposite the aircraft’s flight path through the air.
What are the four forces of flight?
Lift, weight, thrust, and drag
What force acts perpendicular to the relative wind and supports an aircraft in flight?
Lift
Why does increasing angle of attack initially increase lift?
It increases the wing’s interaction with the airflow, producing greater lift up to the critical angle.
What principle explains why air moving faster over a wing produces lower pressure?
Bernoulli’s principle
What device on an aircraft’s wing can be used to increase lift during takeoff and landing?
Flaps
Drag associated with producing lift, particularly at lower speeds.
What is the name for the angle between a wing’s chord line and the relative wind?
Angle of attack
What is the condition in which a wing can no longer produce enough lift because its critical angle of attack has been exceeded?
Stall
What is parsite drag?
What happens to lift when the angle of attack becomes too large?
The wing stalls