Ryan McAffry

11/17/2022

Basic Aerodynamics

The Study of moving air and the force that it produces is referred to as

aerodynamics. It is important to have a good understanding of aerodynamics as an

AMT because aerodynamics is a large factor in aviation maintenance. There are

three basic forces to be considered in aerodynamics: thrust, which moves an

airplane forward; drag, which holds it back; and lift, which keeps the airplane

airborne. In 1799, Sir George Cayley became the first person to identify the fourth

aerodynamic force of flight (Weight) as well as the relationships between them,

and in doing so outlined the path toward achieving heavier-than-air flight for the

next century. Although the word aerodynamic was not officially documented until

1837.

Sir George Kayley of England is recognized as the father of modern

aerodynamics. He understood the basic forces acting on a wing and built a glider

with a wing and a tail unit that flew successfully. He realized the importance of the

wing angle of attack and that curved surfaces (camber) would produce more lift

than flat ones. Stability in his designs came with the use of dihedral—an important
concept still used today He first made public the notion that a fixed-wing aircraft

was possible in 1804.

Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton’s Third Law

When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass

will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that

system. The force applied on a surface in a direction perpendicular or normal to

the surface is also called thrust. For example, A fixed-wing aircraft propulsion

system generates forward thrust when air is pushed in the direction opposite to

flight. This can be done by different means such as the spinning blades of

a propeller, the propelling jet of a jet engine, or by ejecting hot gases from a rocket

engine. Reverse thrust can be generated to aid braking after landing by reversing

the pitch of variable-pitch propeller blades or using a thrust reverser on a jet engine

rotary wing aircraft V/STOL aircraft use propellers or engine thrust to support the

weight of the aircraft and to provide forward propulsion. The thrust axis for an

airplane is the line of action of the total thrust at any instant. It depends on the

location, number, and characteristics of the jet engines or propellers. It usually

differs from the drag axis. If so, the distance between the thrust axis and the drag

axis will cause a moment that must be resisted by a change in the aerodynamic

force on the horizontal stabilizer. Notably, the Boeing 737 MAX, with larger,

lower-slung engines than previous 737 models, had a greater distance between the
thrust axis and the drag axis, causing the nose to rise in some flight regimes,

necessitating a pitch-control system, MCAS. Early versions of MCAS

malfunctioned in flight with catastrophic consequences, leading to the deaths of

over 300 people in 2018 and 2019.

Drag is another factor of aerodynamics. Drag is a restrictive force that

opposes the motion of an aircraft. There are 7 types of drag depending upon their

sources on an aircraft. Parasite drag is a drag produced due to the motion of an

object through a fluid. Concerning aviation, the object is an aircraft and the fluid is

the atmospheric air. Parasite drag occurs due to air molecules. Parasite drag is

classified as form drag or pressure drag, skin friction drag, and interference drag.

Form drag is produced due to the shape of the object moving through the fluid. It

depends on the cross-section of an object. An object with a larger cross-section and

blunt shape will have a larger form drag whereas an object with a smaller cross-

section area and a sharper shape will have a lesser form drag. Form Drag can be

reduced using a smaller cross-section area for making wings and by using an

aerodynamic shape for an aerofoil. Skin friction drag is a drag produced due to

friction between an object (aircraft) & fluid (atmospheric air). A rough surface will

have high skin friction drag and conversely, a smooth surface will have less skin

friction drag. Profile drag is a sum of the form drag & skin friction drag.

Interference drag is produced due to the interference of two or more airflows

aircraft parts, that is, due to a mixture of airflow around the wing and the airflow

around the fuselage.

For an aircraft to rise into the air, a force must be created that equals or

exceeds the force of gravity. This force is called lift. In heavier-than-air craft, lift is

created by the flow of air over an airfoil. The fast-flowing air decreases the

surrounding air pressure. Because the air pressure is greater below the airfoil than

above, a resulting lift force is created. The pressure variations of flowing air is best

represented by Bernoulli's equation. It was derived by Daniel Bernoulli, a Swiss

mathematician, to explain the variation in pressure exerted by flowing streams of

water. Bernoulli’s equation simply states that in any given flow, the density (rho)

times the cross-sectional area (A) of the flow, times the velocity (V) is constant, Or

P x A x V= CONSTANT. Using the Bernoulli equation and the continuity

equation, it can be shown how air flowing over an airfoil creates lift. Imagine air

flowing over a stationary airfoil, such as an aircraft wing. Far ahead of the airfoil,

the air travels at a uniform velocity. To flow past the airfoil, however, it must

"split" in two, part of the flow traveling on top and part traveling on the bottom.

The Bernoulli equation states that an increase in velocity leads to a decrease in

pressure. Thus the higher the velocity of the flow, the lower the pressure. Air

flowing over an airfoil will decrease in pressure. The pressure loss over the top
surface is greater than that of the bottom surface. The result is a net pressure force

in the upward (positive) direction. This pressure force is lift. From Bernoulli's

principle, we can then determine the pressure forces and thus lift. If we do a simple

calculation we would find that in order to generate the required lift for a typical

small airplane, the distance over the top of the wing must be about 50% longer

than under the bottom.

Aerodynamics have a huge part of human life and not just on airplanes. The

car you drive was studied for aerodynamics, boats, trains, footballs, and even water

towers. It plays a factor everywhere, in the air, or the water. We seem to have a

pretty good idea of what and how aerodynamics work. We design things with

aerodynamics in mind for a reason and that’s usually for improved efficiency in

several ways. Aerodynamics is what keeps race cars on the track when they go

200mph and at the same time it is what keeps airplanes in the sky. Aerodynamics

is a larger part of our lives than most people realize.