IFH 4-4

Outside force Net forces Path Apply down elevator Path Net forces Figure 4-4. Newton’s First Law of Motion: the Law of Inertia. Time 2,000 lb300 hp 2,000 lb150 hp = Acceleration Force Mass Figure 4-5. Newton’s Second Law of Motion: the Law of Momentum. • Form Drag Form drag is the drag created because of the shape of a component or the aircraft. If one were to place a circular disk in an air stream, the pressure on both the top and bottom would be equal. However, the airflow starts to break down as the air flows around the back of the disk. This creates turbulence and hence a lower pressure results. Because the total pressure is affected by this reduced pressure, it creates a drag. Newer aircraft are generally made with consideration to this by fairing parts along the fuselage (teardrop) so that turbulence and form drag is reduced. Total lift must overcome the total weight of the aircraft, which is comprised of the actual weight and the tail-down force used to control the aircraft’s pitch attitude. Thrust must overcome total drag in order to provide forward speed with which to produce lift. Understanding how the aircraft’s relationship between these elements and the environment provide proper interpretation of the aircraft’s instruments. Newton’s First Law, the Law of Inertia Newton’s First Law of Motion is the Law of Inertia. It states that a body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion, at the same speed and in the same direction until affected by an outside force. The force with which a body offers resistance to change is called the force of inertia. Two outside forces are always present on an aircraft in flight: gravity and drag. The pilot uses pitch and thrust controls to counter or change these forces to maintain the desired flightpath. If a pilot reduces power while in straight- and-level flight, the aircraft will slow due to drag. However, as the aircraft slows there is a reduction of lift, which causes the aircraft to begin a descent due to gravity. [Figure 4-4] Newton’s Second Law, the Law of Momentum Newton’s Second Law of Motion is the Law of Momentum, which states that a body will accelerate in the same direction as the force acting upon that body, and the acceleration will be directly proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to the mass of the body. Acceleration refers either to an increase or decrease in velocity, although deceleration is commonly used to indicate a decrease. This law governs the aircraft’s ability to change flightpath and speed, which are controlled by attitude (both pitch and bank) and thrust inputs. Speeding up, slowing down, entering climbs or descents, and turning are examples of accelerations that the pilot controls in everyday flight. [Figure 4-5] Newton’s Third Law, the Law of Reaction Newton’s Third Law of Motion is the Law of Reaction, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As shown in Figure 4-6, the action of the jet engine’s thrust or the pull of the propeller lead to the reaction of the aircraft’s forward motion. This law is also responsible for a portion of the lift that is produced by a wing, from the downward deflection of the airflow around it. This downward force of the relative wind results in an equal but opposite (upward) lifting force created by the airflow over the wing. [Figure 4-6] Atmosphere The atmosphere is the envelope of air which surrounds the Earth. A given volume of dry air contains about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and about 1 percent other gases such as argon, carbon dioxide, and others to a lesser degree.