Basic Definitions and Terminologies of Aerodynamis

Four Aerodynamic Forces acting in a aircraft

1. Thrust Force : Thrust is a aerodynamic force that moves an aircraft in the direction of
the motion. It is created with a propeller, jet engine. Air is pulled in and then pushed out
in an opposite direction.

2. Drag Force : Drag is the aerodynamic force that acts opposite to the direction
of motion. It tends to slow an object. Drag is caused by friction and differences in air
pressure.

3. Weight Force: Weight is the forced caused by the gravity

4. Lift Foce : Lift is the force that directly opposes the weight of
an airplane and holds the airplane in the air.

GENERAL DEFINITIONS
Mass
 Unit - Kilogram (kg) - ‘The quantity of matter in a body.’
 The larger the mass, the greater the FORCE required to start or stop it in the
same distance.
 Mass has a big influence on the time and/or distance required to change the
direction of a body.

Force
 Unit - Newton (N) - ‘A push or a pull’. That which causes or tends to cause a
change in motion of a body.
 There are four forces acting on an aircraft in flight - pushing or pulling in different
directions.

Weight

 Unit - Newton (N) - ‘The force due to gravity’

Centre of Gravity (CG)

 The point through which the weight of an aircraft acts.  An aircraft in flight is
said to rotate around its CG.
 The CG of an aircraft must remain within certain forward and aft limits, for
reasons of both stability and control.

Work

 Unit - Joule (J) - A force is said to do work on a body when it moves the body in
the direction in which the force is acting

 Work = Force x Distance

 A Newton metre, the unit of work, is called a joule (J).

Power

 Unit - Watt (W) - Power is simply the rate of doing work. (the time taken to do
work)

 Power (W) = Force (N) x Distance (m) Time (s)

Aerofoil - A body so shaped as to produce aerodynamic reaction normal to the
direction of its motion through the air without excessive drag.

Attitude - The nose-up or nose-down orientation of an aircraft relative to the

horizon.

Angle of attack – The angle between the relative airflow and the cord line of the
wing.

Effective Angle of Attack (αe ) - The angle between the chord line and the
mean direction of a non-uniform disturbed airstream.

Angle of Incidence – The angle between the Root chord line and the longitudinal
axis of the aircraft.

Laminar Flow - Flow in which there is no mixing between adjacent layers.

Mach Number (M) - The ratio of the True Air Speed to the speed of sound under
prevailing atmospheric conditions.

 M = TAS /Local Speed of Sound