Aviation Fundamentals 1

• Tension


  Pulling and stretching of the object
• Compression


  Moves towards each other
• Torsional


  Smaller aircraft, twist
• Shear


  Laminated material joint by rivet, exerted with 2 pieces of fastened material to separate
• Bending


  A combination of tension and compression
• Fuselage


  • The central body of an airplane that is designed to accommodate the crew, passengers, and cargo
• Truss Structure


  1. Strength and rigidity are obtained by joining tubing (steel or aluminum) to produce a series of triangular shapes, called trusses

  2. Formers establish the shape and provide a framework

  3. Bulkhead act as partition or wall

  4. Longerons are the main structural part of the fuselage

  5. Struts are used to strengthen the structure against forces from the side and distribute stresses evenly

  6. Stringers go end to end, across the fuselage
• Monocoque


  Single shell, relies on the external skin
• Semi monocoque


  Combination of fuselage truss and monocoque
• Wings


  • Made up of aluminum panels, airfoils are attached to each side of the fuselage and are the main lifting surfaces that support the airplane in flight
• Parts of Wings


  1. Spar is the main longitudinal bin of aircraft wing, acts as the main pillar

  2. Ribs provide the shapes and strength to wings

  3. Stringers are responsible for transferring aircraft stress and distribute stress evenly

  4. Wing root is near the fuselage, wing tip is far from the fuselage and helps aircraft maneuver from left to right

  5. Fuel tank is an integral part of the wing's structure or consists of flexible containers mounted inside of the wing
• Leading edge


  Front of wing
• Trailing edge


  Back of wing
• Types of Wing Planform

  • Delta wing (triangular, e.g. jet fighters)
  • Sweptback wing (e.g. commercial airlines)
• High wing


  Top fuselage
• Mid wing


  Mid fuselage
• Low wing


  Bottom fuselage
• Empennage


  • Tail section of an airplane
• Parts of Empennage


  1. Horizontal stabilizer prevents aircraft from up and down movement

  2. Vertical stabilizer prevents the aircraft from moving from side to side

  3. Elevator moves up and down, pitch down or up

  4. Rudder moves side to side

  5. Stabilator is a combination of the elevator and horizontal stabilizer
• Types of Empennage


  • V tail (letter V structure)
  • T-tail (letter T structure)
  • Convention (rotated T-tail)
  • Twin tail
  • Twin-boom (nacelle boom/nacelle-like bodies)
• Landing Gear


  • Principal support of the airplane when parking, taxiing, taking off, or landing
• Types of Landing Gear Configurations

  1. Tailwheel gear/conventional gear (2 wheels at the front and one at the back)

  2. Tricycle gear/nose wheel gear (main landing gear at the back and two at the front)
• Fixed landing gear


  Does NOT move
• Retractable landing gear


  Moves upward or downward, larger aircraft
• Powerplant


  • Usually includes both engine and the propeller
• Reciprocating Engines


  Derive from the back-and-forth or reciprocating movement of the piston
• Parts of Reciprocating Engine

  1. Valve (intake and exhaust)

  2. Cylinder

  3. Piston

  4. Connecting Rod

  5. Crankshaft

  6. Crankcase

  7. Spark Plug
• Four Stroke Operating Cycle

  1. Intake Stroke

  2. Compression Stroke

  3. Combustion Stroke

  4. Exhaust Stroke
• Top Dead Center (TDC)


  Position of the piston at the highest point in an engine cylinder
• Bottom Dead Center (BDC)


  Position of the piston at the lowest point in an engine cylinder
• Turbine or Jet Engine

  • Divided into two areas: Cold (Intake and Compression) and Hot (Combustion)
• Parts of Jet Engine

  1. Inlet brings a free stream of air into the engine

  2. Compressor (rotors and stators) increases the air pressure before it enters the combustor

  3. Combustion Chamber (Burner) mixes fuel with high pressure air and burns to create high temperature exhaust gas

  4. Turbine converts thermal energy to kinetic energy and then into rotational mechanical energy

  5. Nozzle converts thermal energy from the exhaust gases into kinetic energy
• Types of Jet Engines or Turbine

  • Turbo Jet
  • Turboprop
  • Turbo Fan
  • Turbo Shaft
• Air Transport Association of America (ATA) is renamed to Airlines for America
• ATA Chapter List is a technical and numerical number of system/subsystems of an aircraft
• Fore


  Front part of aircraft
• Aft


  Back part of aircraft
• Airframe


  All the parts of the aircraft/airplane except powerplant
• Cockpit (Flight Deck)


  Where the pilots maneuver and communicate
• Jet fighters


  • % of air it sucks