Page 20 - August2017

In order for an aircraft to fly all four forces must be active at But the aircraft must be in forward motion for this to
the same time however there is always an ongoing battle happen which requires a good deal of THRUST from the
between these forces to keep the airplane flying – A sort of engine(s) that will overcome both DRAG and WEIGHT. As
good against evil with the good forces being TRUST and LIFT long as all of the four forces acting on the airplane in
and the evil forces of WEIGHT and DRAG are always flight remain EQUAL that the aircraft will fly straight and
interfering into what Thrust and Lift are doing. level but if any of these forces change then the aircrafts
equilibrium will change in the direction of the
Wings come in all shapes and sizes just as aircraft do but
the design of each wing is specially made for the airplane it UNBALANCED FORCE.
is attached to so that it can do the job it is intended to do (
FIGHTER or TRANSPORT ) but they all work in the same NEWTONS THIRD LAW OF PHYSICS states that for every
way to get the job done. REACTION there is an EQUAL and OPPOSITE REACTION

If you were to cut a propeller and a wing in half and then
look at the CROSS SECTION SHAPE of each one, they would
look similar. The name given to this shape is called an
AIRFOIL and it can be very THIN as in a fighter jet like the F-
104 Starfighter.

It is this law that defines how an aircraft flies and
maintains straight and level flight - Of the two POSITIVE
forces that act on an aircraft (THRUST and LIFT) LIFT is the
most important for without lift an airplane cannot fly and
this can only happen with our old friend THE WING.

“MAN THE PREASURE IN THIS JOB IS KILLING ME “!
or very thick as in an airliner such as the Boeing 747

OK that’s it for this class now for your assignments. For
those who have a copy of FROM THE GROUND UP please
read chapter 2 . For those with only FS2004 consult the
LEARNING CENTER for today’s subjects and answer
todays questions

1- Why are the wings on a CF-104 and AIR
CANDA 747 so different and why?
2- Explain in detail HOW an AIRFOIL creates LIFT
for its shape

FLYING HOMEWORK
the airfoil shape of a wing is what gives an airplane LIFT Take a local flight around your area in the Cessna
which in turn is created by a DIFFERENTIAL in the PREASURE 172 – set up and maintain STRAIGHT AND LEVEL flight.
of the AIR that is going OVER and UNDER the wing . Simply What control imputes are needed to maintain this
put there is a HIGH AIR PREASURE on the TOP of the wing ATTITUDE and WHY and HOW does it stay this way?
and a LOW AIR PREASURE on the BOTTOM of the wing
created by the SHAPE of the AIRFOIL. A REACTION causes
the LOW air pressure to PUSH against the BOTTOM of the Next month we will continue our mission in PART 2 of
wing and giving the airplane its LIFT THEROY of FLIGHT with new information on WHY DOES IT
DO WHAT IT DO and WHAT MAKES IT DO WHAT IT DOES
till then HAPPY FLYING !