STRAIGHT AND

LEVEL
 AIM

 To learn the principles, and

considerations of straight and
level flight, and how to enter and
maintain it.
 APPLICATION
 Used in the cruise segment

 Shortest distance between two

points

 It allows for greater passenger

comfort.
 REVISION
 Control Effects

Control Control Axis Primary Seconda Further

Surface Input Effect ry Effect Effect
Aileron Control Longitudi Roll Yaw Spiral
Column nal
Stabilato Control Lateral Pitch Airspeed Altitude
r Column
Rudder Foot Normal Yaw Roll Spiral
Pedals
 REVISION CONTINUED
 Bernoulli’s Theorem:
 PT=PD+PS
Low PS
- - - - -
-
-

+ + + +
+ + +
High PS
 Lift: L=CL ½ ρ V 2S

 Pilot’s Formula: AoA x IAS

 DEFINITIONS:
 Lift:
 Lift is produced by the pressure
differential.
 An increase in airspeed results in a
decrease in PS, thus giving us lift.
 Lift acts perpendicular to the relative
airflow through the centre of pressure.
(COP).
Centre Of Pressure
L
 DEFINITIONS
CONTINUED:
 Weight:
 Is Mass x Gravity.
Weights acts vertically towards the centre of the
earth through the centre of gravity. Lift

 Thrust:
 Produced by the propeller through
the propeller shaft.
Drag

Thrust
 Drag:
 Opposes thrust, enemy of flight
Parallel to Relative airflow

Weight
 Definitions Continued:
 Centre of Gravity (CoG):
 Is the point through which the entire aircraft weight acts. If the aircraft
could be suspended from that point, it would hover horizontally in perfect
balance.

 MOMENT: A moment is a measure of the tendency of a rigid body to

rotate about a point. It depends upon both strength of the force and the
length of the arm.
1m
2m

40
20 20

MOMENT = FORCE × ARM

FORCES IN STRAIGHT AND
LEVEL.

Lift
CoG in front of CoP

Elevator
Down Force

Drag

Thrust

T/D
Couple
Elevator
Down Force

L/W
Couple

Weight
 DRAG:
There are two main types of drag: Induced and Parasite

 Parasite. It consists of three sub categories. Skin friction, form and

interference drag. Parasite drag increases with increased airspeed.

 Skin Friction: Is caused by the air sticking to the surfaces as it passes

around the aircraft. It can be minimised by keeping all surfaces of the
aeroplane as clean and smooth as possible.

 Interference drag: Is caused by uneven surfaces joining together. i.e.

wing struts joining the wing. It can be reduced by placing a moulding over
the separation.
 Form Drag:
 Is caused by air getting out of the way as
the aircraft travels forward. I.e. a nose
wheel without a spat will incur a lot of
form drag. The aim to avoiding form drag
is to keep all surfaces as streamlined as
possible.
 Parasite Drag

Parasite

Drag

 Airspeed
 Drag Continued:
 Induced Drag:
 Induced drag is a by product of AoA.
At the wingtips, the air leaks to the
upper surface creating swirling
vortices. This is Induced Drag.

Wingtip Vortices form off a large airliner on takeoff

 Induced Drag

Induced
Drag

Airspeed
 Total Drag
 Total Drag: Is the sum of both
parasite and induced drag. The total
drag value is high at low airspeed, i.e.
due to induced drag
 Total drag value is high at high speed,
i.e.
Due to parasite drag.

Total drag reduces at a medium

airspeed.
 Total Drag Curve

Drag
Minimum
drag

Airspeed
 CONSIDERATIONS
 Stability: Is a condition whereby an
object disturbed has a natural
tendency to return to its first and
UNSTABLE
normal
STABLE position.
NEUTRAL
Displacement
Ball Ball
returns remains

Displacement Ball
Displacement continues
 Longitudinal Stability
 A) Longitudinal Stability-
 This is stability in pitch, i.e. about the lateral axis.
 Longitudinal stability is associated with the restoration of an AOA
to the trimmed AOA after a disturbance changes it. i.e. we get a
sudden updraft.
 The tailplane acts as a balancing force, helping the aeroplane to
return to its original state after the disturbance has occurred.
 It is helped by the Angle of incidence. There is a difference in the
Angle of incidence between the mainplane and the tailplane.

Blue Shaded area = Negative

AoA which provides the
downward force on the
tailplane in straight and level
flight.
RAF
Blue Shaded area = Positive AoA which
provides a restoring force from the pitch
up.
 Longitudinal stability
increased
 By setting the tailplane onto the
fuselage at a slightly smaller angle
of incidence than the mainplane, a
nose up pitch will always produce a
bigger proportional increase in lift
on the tailplane than it does on the
mainplane.
 Lateral Stability
 Lateral Stability-
 Lateral stability is the stability displayed around the longitudinal
axis of the airplane.
 An example, an aeroplane that tends to return to a wings-level
attitude after being displaced from a level attitude.
 i.e turbulence-up-draft.
 Dihedral wings, wing sweep-back help improve lateral stability.

Side ways Component of

RAF

Relative airflow strikes down going wing at a higher AoA, correcting the roll.
 Lateral Stability

Dihedral, as we can see here on the PA28 Warrior, is incorporated into the
design of an aircraft to increase it’s lateral stability.
 Lateral Stability
 Sweep-back:
 In straight and level, both wings
encounter the same ‘span’ of airflow.
 If a wing drops, the sideslip occurs,
however as the relative airflow now
approaches from the direction of the
sideslip, the effective span of the lower
wing has been greatly increased.
 The effective span on the upper wing has
been greatly reduced.
 More air will be now flowing over the
lower wing
 Directional Stability-
Directional stability is associated with the realigning of the
longitudinal axis with the flight path. It seeks to point its nose into
wind. The major contributor to directional stability is the surface
area of an the fin and rudder.
The larger this area and the further away from the CoG it is located,
the stronger the stabilizing moment.

As the vertical fin is simply a

symmetrical aerofoil, it now
experiences an AoA which produces a
restoring force.
Power + Attitude = Performance

Cruise Type Power Attitude Performance

Normal 2400 RPM 3-4 Finger 100-105 KIAS

Slow 2000 RPM 2 Finger 80 KIAS

Fast 2500 RPM 5 Finger 115 KIAS

Precautionary
(2 Stage Flap)2200 RPM 4-5 Finger 80 KIAS
Air Exercise
A ttitude
L ookout
Attitude
P erformance
Power
S peed
A ttitud Attitude
e
Speed T ri
P ower m
T ri
m
 Threat & Error
Management
 LOOKOUT……..scan rate is a must!!!

 Smooth throttle and control inputs

 Correct hand/takeover procedure

 Monitor Engine Gauges

 IMSAFE
 ‘MR’
 ATIS