Aerospace Flight Mechanics

Components of an aircraft

The main body of an airplane

Airfoils attached to each side of the fuselage

Known as the tail section

Empennage is consisted of

The heart of the aircraft

A unit or machine that converts chemical energy contains in the fuel to thrust force

Essential for moving the airplane forward and producing lift force.

With the piston engine it is used to convert torque at engine shaft to be thrust.

It is the thrust force in the jet engine.

Located underneath of the fuselage with shock strut

Airframe materials properties

Most used material now in airframe construction

Example of materials used in airframe construction

Basic Fuselage Structure Types

Two types of truss structure

Most early aircraft used this technique with wood and wire trusses and this type of structure is still used in many lightweight aircraft using welded steel tube trusses.

In this method, the exterior surface of the fuselage is also the primary structure.

This is the preferred method of constructing an all aluminum fuselage.

The basic structure vertical members

The basic structure longitudinal members

Type of wing structure where the wing struts are usually attached approximately halfway out on the wing

The principal structural parts of the wing

Determine the shape and thickness of the wing (airfoil)

They are either an integral part of the wing structure or consist of flexible containers mounted inside of the wing in most modern airplanes

Two types of control surfaces attached to the rear or trailing edges of the wings

Extend from about the midpoint of each wing outward toward the tip and move in opposite directions to create aerodynamic forces that causes the airplane to roll

Extend outward from the fuselage to near the midpoint of each and move simultaneously downward to increase the lifting force of the wing for takeoffs and landings

The correct name for the tail section of an airplane

The movable surfaces include

Incorporates a one-piece horizontal stabilizer that pivots from a central hinge point and is moved using the control stick

Attached to the back of the vertical stabilizer and is used to move the airplane’s nose left and right

Attached at the back of the horizontal stabilizer, and is used to move the nose of the airplane up and down during flight

Small, movable portions of the trailing edge of the control surface

The principle support of the airplane when parked, taxiing, taking off, or when landing

Landing gear employing a nearmounted wheel

Referred to airplanes with conventional landing gear

When the third wheel is located on the nose

The design of the nose wheel

Permits the airplane to be controlled throughout all operations while on the ground

Includes both the engine and the propeller

Its primary function is to provide power to turn the propeller

The purpose is to streamline the flow of air around the engine and to help cool the engine by ducting air around the cylinders

Mounted on the front of the engine, translates the rotating force of the engine into a forward acting force called thrust that helps move the airplane through the air.

Commonly use on commercial airplane since fuel is carry on wing

Has no ground clearance limitation

Spacecraft operational characteristics

Typical spacecraft structures

Two categories of spacecraft structures

It protects the payload; the frontliner

Converts chemical energy into heat energy

A type of heat engine that derives its name from back-and-forth

The first satellite that operated until January 3, 1958.

When did Sputnik I first operated?

Most popular reciprocating engine used on light aircraft, 36 hp to 400 hp, has even number of cylinders, high power-to-weight ratios and vibrates less than other engines.

Has an even number of cylinders, aligned in a single row parallel with the crankshaft, liquid-cooled or air-cooled, small frontal area and allows for better streamlining least drag, and limited to four or six cylinders.

Arranged around a single crankshaft in two in-line banks that are 45, 60, 90 degrees apart; had two rows of cylinders, and 8 or 12 cylinders

Consists of a row or rows; greatest drag, lowest weight for horsepower ratios and problems in cooling.

The largest multiple-row radial engines

The foundation of reciprocating engine

The powerhouse of the engine/ head and barrel

Cylindrical plunger / 4000 F

Regulates the flow of gases

The most common valve.

Types of engine crankcases

Ignites air fuel mixtures

Piston parts

Types of connecting rods

The backbone of a reciprocating engine

Consists of a cam ring or camshaft equipped with lobes that work against a cam roller or a cam follower.

Sucks in air and compresses or squeezes it. The gases flow through the turbine and make it spin. These gases bounce back and shoot out of the rear of the exhaust, pushing the plane forward.

Types of combustion engine

Types of internal combustion engine

Was invented by Hero, a mathematician in 250 BC.

Engr. for the General Electri Company who invented turbosupercharger

A Royal Airforce Officer and is considered the father of Jet Propulsion. He received the first patent for the Jet Engine (1930)

The designer of the first operational turbojet engine, a German Engr., Physicist, and Aerodynamicist

World’s first aircraft to fly using the thrust from a turbojet engine. August 27, 1939 was the first successful flight

Propelling force generated in the direction opposite to the flow of mass of gas or liquid under the pressure which is escaping through a hole or opening called jet nozzle.

Two ways on how to increase jet engine thrust

Environmental factors affecting thrust

Types of reaction engines

Types of rocket propellants

The chemical mixture burned

A substance that burns

An agent that releases oxygen

The ratio of oxidizer to fuel

Simplest of all rocket designs

Types of air-breathing engine

Athodyd or aero-thermodynamic-duct that has no static thrust and no moving engine, the simplest

Supersonic combustion ramjet, a variant of ramjet

Air intake duct is equipped with a series of shutter valves

Types of gas turbine engine

A type of gas turbine engine that has compressed air

A gas turbine engine that delivers power to a propeller

A gas turbine engine that delivers power to a shaft

The most efficient and multi-bladed ducted propeller driven by a gas turbine engine

Types of bypass ratios

Major sections of gas turbine engine