1. The Airplane

2. Reference
From the Ground Up Chapter 1: The Airplane Pages

3. Outline Airplane and Parts Construction Materials and Stresses
Loads and Load Factors
Logbooks and Inspection
Aircraft Classes and Categories

4. The Airplane Aircraft - Any machine capable of flight
Canadian Air Regulations (CARs) definition of an Airplane:
“Power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft deriving its lift in flight from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces that remain fixed under given conditions of flight."
Some Airplane Classifications:
Wing position (high/low/mid wing)
Number of engines (single or multi-engine)
Undercarriage (wheels, skis, floats, retractable and non-retractable)

5. Parts of an Airplane Essential components of airplane:
1. Fuselage (body)
2. Lifting Surfaces (wings)
3. Empennage (tail section)
4. Propulsion System (engines)
5. Undercarriage (landing gear)
Airframe
Complete structure of airplane, except for instruments and engines

6. Parts of an Airplane Empennage Lifting Surface Fuselage
Propulsion System
Undercarriage

7. Parts of an Airplane Vertical Stabilizer Rudder Aileron
Horizontal Stabilizer
Flaps
Elevators
Wing Strut
Aileron
Propeller
Landing Gear
Engine Cowl

8. The Fuselage Central body of airplane
Accommodates crew, passengers, and cargo
Wings, tail, landing gear, and engine all attached to fuselage
Classed according to construction method (truss, monocoque, semi-monocoque)

9. Truss Steel tubes (Longerons and Girders) form frame
Principle member = Longerons (lengthwise tubes)
Covered by fabric, metal or composite materials
Frame takes all load

10. Truss
Longerons
Girders

11. Monocoque
Solid structure (or skin) with no internal frame (example: pop can)
Usually made of composite materials
Skin takes all load

12. Semi-Monocoque
Monocoque structure with internal frame/stiffeners (Formers and Stringers), covered with Stressed Skin.
Principle Member = Formers (AKA Bulkheads)
Formers and Stressed Skin take load

13. Semi-Monocoque
Formers
Stringers
Stressed Skin

14. The Wing Airplane wings either:
Monoplanes - One pair of wings, most modern aircraft
Biplanes - Two pairs of wings, older designs

15. The Wing Wing shapes: Rectangular Tapered (from wing root to wing tip)
Elliptical
Delta

16. The Wing Wings attached: Bottom of fuselage = low wing
Middle of fuselage = mid wing
Top of fuselage = high wing

17. The Wing High wings either: Externally braced (supported by struts)
Fully cantilevered (no struts)

18. Inside The Wing Spars run from wing root to wing tip
One spar = monospar
More than one = multispar
Ribs run from leading edge to trailing edge
They are cambered (curved) to give wing shape
Wing covering attached to ribs
Compression Struts hold spars in place and take some of the load between them

19. The Wing
Spar
Compression Strut
Rib

20. Parts of the Wing Ailerons
Control surfaces near wing tips on trailing edge
Allow airplane to Roll
Wing Root = Section of wing closest to fuselage
Wing Tip = Outer edge of the wing, farthest from fuselage
Chord
Imaginary line between leading and trailing edge of wing
Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC) is average of chord along wing (if wing tapers)
Span = Maximum distance from wing tip to wing tip
Flaps
Attached to trailing edge of wing, close to fuselage
They increase or decrease camber of that section of wing

21. The Tail (Empennage) Four main parts:
Vertical Stabilizer (AKA Fin)
Rudder
Horizontal Stabilizer (AKA Stabilizer)
Elevator
Horizontal stabilizer is airfoil which balances aircraft, and provides longitudinal stability
Vertical stabilizer is vertical surface which provides directional stability
Control surface for pitch (up and down motion of airplane)
Hinged to horizontal stabilizer, provides longitudinal control

22. The Tail (Empennage) Rudder Stabilator Trim tab Canard
Control surface for yaw (left and right motion of plane)
Hinged to vertical stabilizer, provides directional control
Stabilator
Horizontal stabilizer and elevator combined into one surface.
Pivots around point where it’s hinged onto fuselage
Trim tab
Surface fixed or hinged onto control surface
Helps pilot by taking pressure off flight controls during various phases of flight
Canard
Horizontal Stabilizer and lifting surface on nose of aircraft

23. The Propulsion System Planes powered by:
Piston-engines (props)
Turbine engines (turbo-props)
Jet engines (jets)
Most small airplanes in use today have piston engines similar to car engines

24. The Landing Gear Landing gear: Landing Gear can be either:
Supports aircraft on surface
Takes shock of landing
Landing Gear can be either:
Nose Wheel (AKA tricycle)
Tail Wheel (AKA tail-dragger)
Landing gear can also be fixed or retractable (reduces drag)

25. Control Systems Three main control surfaces
Rudder (controls yaw)
Elevator (controls pitch)
Ailerons (controls roll)
Rudder controlled by foot pedals
Elevator and ailerons controlled by control column, which can either be a control stick (or “stick”) or a control wheel (or “yoke”). Some airplanes may also have side-yokes or side-sticks.

26. Control Systems
Control Wheel

27. Control Systems
Control Stick

28. Trim Used by pilot to help take some pressure off flight controls
Trim Tabs
Hinged to trailing edge of ailerons, rudders and elevators
May be fixed or controllable
Some trimming methods:
Anti-servo Tabs
Servo Tabs
Adjustable Stabilizer
Moveable Tail
Spring Trim
Electric Trim

29. Construction Materials
Aircraft frames must be: light, strong and rigid (stiff)
Some materials:
Steel
Dural (aluminum alloy with copper and magnesium)
Alclad (dural between two layers of pure aluminum)
Magnesium Alloy
Honeycomb Sandwich Construction (metal honeycomb pattern between two sheets of metal
Composite (fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin molded over a foam form)
Wood
Fabric

30. Corrosion
Normally caused by oxidation, which is reaction between metal and moisture in the air, causing surface to dissolve (Example: Rust)
Forms of corrosion are:
Oxidation
Intercrystalline
Dissimilar Metals
Stress Corrosion
Corrosion Fatigue
Fretting Corrosion

31. Stresses Stress - Force that can cause a strain
Strain - Distortion (changing of shape) of an object due to stress
5 types of stresses:
Compression (crushing)
Tension (stretching)
Torsion (twisting)
Shearing (cutting)
Bending

32. Loads and Load Factors
Wing Loading - Gross weight divided by area of lifting surfaces (lb per sq ft)
Span Loading - Gross weight divided by span (lb per ft)
Power Loading – Gross weight divided by engine horsepower (lb per hp)
Load Factor - Ratio of live load (actual load on wings) to dead load (Gross Weight, or aircraft weight on ground)

33. Logbooks Aircraft Journey Log Aircraft Technical Log Personal Logbooks
Always carried on aircraft during flight
Records daily flight time, air time, fuel and oil added, maintenance etc
Aircraft Technical Log
Not carried on aircraft
Records everything concerning maintenance, repairs and modifications
Personal Logbooks
Logs every flight by pilot
Records flight time, airplane, routes etc
Also records licences, training info and total flight time

34. Logbooks
Air Time - Starts when wheels leave ground, ends when wheels touch back down
Flight Time - Starts when aircraft starts moving under its own power to when it stops, for the purpose of flight

35. Inspection
Pilots must inspect aircraft before each flight, for general airworthiness, fuel and oil etc
All aircraft must be periodically inspected by a qualified maintenance engineer and certified as airworthy in the aircraft technical and journey logs

36. Common Licence Types Student Pilot Permit Recreational Pilot Permit
Glider Pilot Licence
Private Pilot Licence
Commercial Pilot Licence
Airline Transport Pilot Licence
Class and type ratings can be added to above licences

37. Aircraft Classes Categories Classes Types
General definitions of aircraft
Examples: Airplanes, rotorcraft, gliders, lighter-than-air, powered-lift
Classes
Categories are split into classes
Examples: Single-engine, multi-engine, landplane, seaplane, helicopter, gyroplane, balloon etc
Types
Specific models of aircraft
Examples: Cessna 172, Boeing 747, Schweitzer 2-33

38. Next Lesson
2.1 - Theory of Flight The Four Forces From the Ground Up Chapter 2.1.1: Forces Acting on an Airplane in Flight Pages