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  • Chapter 5: Aerodynamics of Flight › Boundary Layer Separation › High Speed Flight Controls

    High Speed Flight Controls On high-speed aircraft, flight controls are divided into primary flight controls and secondary or auxiliary flight controls. The primary flight controls maneuver the aircraft about the pitch, roll, and yaw axes. They include the ailerons ... flaps, spoilers, and slats. Spoilers are used on the upper surface of the wing to spoil or reduce lift. High speed aircraft, due to their clean low drag design, use spoilers as speed brakes to slow them down. Spoilers…

  • Chapter 12: Weather Theory › Wind and Currents › Wind Patterns

    Wind Patterns In the Northern Hemisphere, the flow of air from areas of high to low pressure is deflected to the right and produces a clockwise circulation around an area of high pressure. This is known as anticyclonic circulation ... opposite is true of low-pressure areas; the air flows toward a low and is deflected to create a counterclockwise or cyclonic circulation. [Figure 12-10] High-pressure systems are generally areas of dry, descending air. Good weather is typically…

  • Chapter 5: Aerodynamics of Flight › Thrust

    given airfoil shape) is that lift varies with the AOA and airspeed. Therefore, a large AOA at low airspeeds produces an equal amount of lift at high airspeeds with a low AOA. The speed regimes of flight can be grouped ... three categories: low-speed flight, cruising flight, and high-speed flight. When the airspeed is low, the AOA must be relatively high if the balance between lift and weight is to be maintained. [Figure 5-3] If thrust decreases…

  • Chapter 5: Aerodynamics of Flight › Effect of Wing Planform

    root to the tip of the wing). In general, tapering causes a decrease in drag (most effective at high speeds) and an increase in lift. There is also a structural benefit due to a saving in weight of the wing ... Most training and general aviation type airplanes are operated at high coefficients of lift, and therefore require comparatively high aspect ratios. Airplanes that are developed to operate at very high speeds demand greater aerodynamic cleanness and greater strength, which require…

  • Chapter 8: Flight Instruments › Effect of Nonstandard Pressure and Temperature

    adjusted for nonstandard pressure, a hazardous situation could occur. For example, if an aircraft is flown from a high pressure area to a low pressure area without adjusting the altimeter, a constant altitude will be displayed, but the actual height ... above the ground would be lower then the indicated altitude. There is an old aviation axiom: “GOING FROM A HIGH TO A LOW, LOOK OUT BELOW.” Conversely, if an aircraft is flown from a low pressure area to a high…

  • Chapter 10: Advanced Flight Maneuvers › Reconnaissance Procedures › High Reconnaissance

    give particular consideration to forced landing areas in case of an emergency. Altitude, airspeed, and flight pattern for a high reconnaissance are governed by wind and terrain features. It is important to strike a balance between a reconnaissance conducted ... high and one too low. It should not be flown so low that a pilot must divide attention between studying the area and avoiding obstructions to flight. A high reconnaissance should be flown at an altitude…