Aerofoil Compulsions Working upon a Plane during a Set - Term Paper Example

Name Professor Institution Course Date 1. Aerodynamic forces acting upon an aircraft during a turn. FUNDAMENTAL OF FLIGHT Introduction Aerodynamic forces are forces that act when a body and a gas or a fluid are in contact that results to a relative motion. This force is the aerodynamic load acting on the matter. It is as an effect of vigor due to the exertion of pressure on the body or because of velocity or speed. The other effect is the resistance of the skin (Xueguang, B. 2007). The movements of the wings of an aircraft are in relative action with the air which then generates the aerodynamic vigor. The make of the aircraft determines its performance. Turning the aircraft involves two mechanisms which are the vertical mechanism and the horizontal mechanism. The vertical mechanism acts perpendicularly and in an opposite manner to the load of the aircraft. The parallel mechanism of the lift enables the aircraft to make a turn by pulling it from the straight trail of its flight. The centrifugal force behaves in an equivalent and contrary bearing to the parallel mechanism. The nose moves along a similar bearing to ensure a smooth turn. The tail moves in the same course. A rudder is essential in the turning of an aircraft because it corrects deviations of the nose and tail (Xueguang, B. 2007). Steering is not applicable in aircrafts, therefore, the need to bank them during a turn. This means that is not mechanical that it turns, hence, initiation of a force to turn it. This calls for proper control of the aircraft by the pilot. Turns of the aircraft are dependant on the size of the lift vigor given the aircraft’s speed (Mc Clamroch, H. N. 2011). There is a proportionality of the lift and the position of the turn. When the centrifugal force is greater than the parallel force, follows the creation of a skidding turn. This turn pulls it to the outer surface of the rotation or turn. Source: Federal, A. A. (2011): Weight-shift control aircraft flying handbook: Indomitable publications. There are four types of forces acting upon an aircraft, which the pilot has a role of controlling them to avoid collisions and other accidents. There are situations when all the forces ought to be equal and other times one force is larger than another. For instance, if the aircraft flies at a steady speed and on a straight and plane ground, the four forces are equivalent to each other (Federal, A. A. 2010). Some of these forces oppose each other, for example, lift overcomes weight and thrust overcomes drag. Lift creates an upward force while weight produces a downward force, thus enabling the aircraft to fly. Lift is the first force which is useful mostly in the take-off and it overcomes weight. Its creation is due to its movement in the air. The wings are responsible for the lift vigor. Its magnitude is dependant on the shape of the aircraft, the bulkiness and rapidity in the air (Mc Clamroch, H. N. 2011). Lift acts on one position known as the center of pressure, with the circulation of strain around the plane. When it is leaving the ground to fly, wings produce the lift force which must be equivalent to or bigger than the aircraft’s load. It is crucial in countering the difficulty of control in a plane. The second force is the weight. It is always in the direction of the earth’s center. The aircraft’s weight is dependant on the mass of its various components, the luggage and people in the aircraft and the quantity of fuel. There should be even distribution of the load in the aircraft, so that no side is heavier than the other. This force operates on one position, that is, the center of gravity and it rotates about it. According to Federal, A. A. (2010). The pilot has a role in ensuring balance of the aircraft due to changes in the center of gravity and weight. Fuel usage by the aircraft causes the changes in its load. Load overcomes the difficulty of controlling the item in the aircraft. Federal, A. A. (2011): Weight-shift control aircraft flying handbook: Indomitable publications. The third one is drag which is useful in slowing or reducing the motion of the aircraft. It is a resistance force when the aircraft is in motion in the air. Drag acts on the center of pressure and it is dependant on some factors. Such factors are like the aircraft’s figure, its pace and the adhesiveness of the air. The fourth force is thrust which opposes drag. Generation of this force is through the propulsion scheme. Attachment of engines to the plane determines direction of the thrust. There are two turbine engines below the wings that are analogous to the body. That arrangement makes thrust to act with the body’s core. Discrepancy of the direction of thrust reduces the distance of the take-off. The type and number of engines in the plane and its throttle setting determine its magnitude (Federal, A. A. 2010). 2. Describe why an aircraft could collide with the ground during a turning maneuver. Turning of an aircraft involves some vigor and they are four. Lack of adherence to them may cause collision of the aircraft with the ground (Tsang & Vidulich. 2002). The turns should be stable and the coordination should be proper to evade collision. There are three types of turns that a pilot can maneuver, including the shallow, medium and steep turns. All the three vary according to the angle of bank, hence a difference in the leveling of the wings to achieve steadiness (Angelov, P. 2012). The drag forces vary on the two wings, where drag is more on the rising wing than on the lowering wing. This means that the pilot has to control the speed of the aircraft to prevent a collision with the ground. The lift force is vertical to the wings of the aircraft when it is in the air. This means that if it turns that force tilts to the direction of the turn, though some force still acts in a parallel direction of the earth surface. The pilot plays an important role of maintaining the elevation by raising the lift force on the wings through raising the wings’ position of attack. That means that there is selection of an exact angle, some controls to attain it and to retain the bank position. This will ensure that the aircraft’s speed reduces, which is not lower than the stalling velocity. The provision of thrust force is by the throttle. The aircraft could collide with the ground during a turn if the pilot is not careful in controlling the speed of the aircraft leading to a loss of the lift force. This lift force should compel the aircraft upwards, so when it is lost, the aircraft will go downwards leading to a crash. During a turn, the wings are normally on a tilting position where the lift vigor is not as much as of a level position (Angelov, P. 2012). A case where a collision would occur is when the speed of the aircraft becomes low. This causes the wings to seize to generate the lift vigor, that is, they halt or stall. This causes a crash if the aircraft is low such that it cannot recover. An aircraft could also collide if the throttle fails to provide the thrust that reduces the pace of the aircraft as it turns. The collision with the ground could also be as a result of the rudder failing to offset or correct yaw effects from the controls (Tsang & Vidulich. 2002). There ought to be a deflection of the rudder to the inside of the turn and the wings to the outside of turn. This is done to balance for the effects of the tail and the overturning behavior. When the pilot fails to follow the actions above, it causes the collision of the aircraft with the ground. 3. Instruments that are available to the pilot to help him/her accurately turn the aircraft. Flight instruments are instruments that assist a pilot to turn the aircraft by giving him or her details concerning its location. The information may include details like the velocity and speed of the aircraft, the direction it is moving towards and the altitude in terms of where it is at that particular time. These details assist the pilot to determine how to make a turn depending on the position that the aircraft is in. They also help the pilot to clearly see the environment of the aircraft in terms of the clouds and other factors. These instruments are inside the aircraft and they are as shown below. Maps are instruments that show the pilot the position of the aircraft at that time and where it is heading to. This helps him or her to determine when and where to take a turn. Pilots also have radio or speakers that connect them to the controlling center, to help them ask for any assistance in case they are stuck when making a turn (Federal, A. A. 2011). The altimeter is an instrument that indicates the altitude of the aircraft. It gives the position of the aircraft beyond the sea-level. It is important in indicating the pressure, hence helping the pilot determine how to make a turn (Federal, A. A. 2008). Pressure is helpful in determining the speed at which it will make a turn and not fall below the stalling velocity. Another instrument is the Attitude indicator and it indicates the attitude with the horizon. It is important in that it helps the pilot to set the position of the wings while making a turn. Turn indicator is another instrument that indicates the direction of turn of the aircraft. It directs the pilot by showing whether the turn is correct and well coordinated. It also shows the angle of bank and the speed of return of the aircraft (Federal, A. A. 2011). The vertical indicator shows the speed in terms of the perpendicular speed. This helps the pilot to determine how to make a turn looking at the perpendicular position to the earth. The parallel situation indicator shows the speed of the aircraft in relation to the horizontal position of the earth. This helps the pilot uses this instrument to determine the parallel speed at which he will make a turn.   4. Factors that lead to the aircraft crashing while turning. I. XPT passenger train WT27 and a track-mounted excavator This is a case of collision between a train carrying passengers and a track –mounted excavator in New South Wales (http://www.atsb.gov.au/). The authority of the track occupancy made an authorization of the work groups to work there. Report shows that they had authorization from this authority to dwell in the track as they were working there. The body in charge of the investigations about that collision found out that the causes of this collision was both actions by the individuals and systemic issues. Both the protection and network control officers were in a position to correctly identify the place and kind of worksite. This was as a result of lack of provision by the authority to document vital information like about that collision. Investigations show that the workers did not have relevant skills to work there. The workers had no experience on the dangers and ways of protecting themselves under the Track Occupancy Authority (http://www.atsb.gov.au/). The protection officer and the network control officer were on the wrong. This is because they had made a wrong conclusion that the train went past the worksite confines. The workers made an assessment of the danger region prior to placing safety procedures like flags. II. Incorrect aircraft configuration The aircraft was landing with the right configurations. The major cause of this accident failure of operation by the crew during the turning as the aircraft was landing at the airport. Investigations on this accident indicate that there were distractions causing the crew to make inappropriate decisions while landing. The communication between the crew was low, hence taking actions due to fatigue (http://www.atsb.gov.au/). There was no identification of any systemic causes of the collision of the aircraft or any operational failures. There was a review of procedures in the aircraft operators for training and improving crew actions to dangers. III. Controlled aircraft terrain In this accident, some passengers and the pilot got fatal injuries while two others got severe injuries. The cause of this accident was that its center of gravity was outside as the pilot was making a turn. The result of that was a low stability for the aircraft hence, reducing the performance of the aircraft (http://www.atsb.gov.au/). Another cause of the collision was lack of requirements of the night visual flight rules by the pilot, which means that he did not have the qualifications and ratings. The weight of the aircraft while taking off was also in excess, meaning that it was behold the maximum. IV. Uncontained engine failure and air turn-back There was an engine failure of this aircraft causing it to shut down but fortunately, there were no casualties in this accident. Conducting of the investigations was by the manufacturers of that particular engine. Investigations show that the engine failure was due to a fatigue rupture and a low pressure turbine sharp edge while turning. The bearing of the low pressure turbine went below the minimum due to this rotor imbalance, hence releasing debris. The low pressure was due to the aircraft turning and the failure of the engine (http://www.atsb.gov.au/). The manufacturers made fittings to adjust to low pressure where the aircrafts are turning. They also gave bulletins to train operators on how to deal with such cases. References Xueguang, B. (2007): An analytical and experimental investigations into aerodynamic force determination for aircraft wings: ProQuest. Mc Clamroch, H. N. (2011): Steady aircraft flight performance: Princeton University press. Federal, A. A. (2009): Pilot’s handbook of aeronautical knowledge: Sky horse publishing Inc. Federal, A. A. (2010): Airplane flying handbook: Indomitable publications. Angelov, P. (2012): Sense and avoid in Uas: Research and applications vol. 61: John Wiley & sons. Tsang, P. S, & Vidulich, M. A. (2002): Principles and practice of aviation psychology: Rout ledge. Federal, A. A. (2011): Weight-shift control aircraft flying handbook: Indomitable publications. Federal, A. A. (2008): Instrument flying book: Sky horse publishing Inc. Stoff, J. (2004): Long island aircraft crashes Images of America: Arcadia publishing. http://www.atsb.gov.au/ Read More