adminAN AIRCRAFT: TO FLY LIKE A BIRD
Man has always being intrigued and captivated by flight. Watching the birds flying may have given man the first idea of how, that historically the first attempt by man to fly was based on this notion. Daedalus the first man to fly 3400 year ago, as the story or the fable goes, designed wings of feathers and wax, so he and his son Icarus could escape from the island of Crete. Icarus flew too close to the sun, which melted his wings, resulting in the death of one of the pioneers of flight.
From feathers and wax as wings, man’s approach to flying evolved from, kites to hot balloons, to airships to gliders, to autogiro before the aircraft as we know it today was born by the wright brothers in the year Dec 17 1903. Then complexity of the flying machine as we know it today took off.
To fly like a bird requires an aircraft with sound lightweight structure, good lift surfaces , reliable propulsion, excellent control surfaces, good piloting skills coupled with adequate weather and navigation condition. The four basic forces determining an aircraft performance are; thrust to power it forward in order to overcome the drag on it, lift to overcome gravity and increase its altitude, air resistance or drag to hold it back and gravity to pull it down.
However, the thrust created by an aircraft depends on the kind of power plant used to propel the aircraft. There are various power plants used to propel aircrafts today, they are; propeller, jet, turbojet, fanjet, turboprop, ramjet, pulse, rocket, plasma and pump jet propulsion.
To create lift on an aircraft, the following the following are desirable; the shape of the wing or the aero foil, is critical in creating a pressure difference on the lower and upper surfaces of the aero foil thereby creating lift. Also the additional factors that influence lift include the angle of attack of the wing relatively to the flow of the air, the air density, the wing shape and size and the relative speed of the air over the aircraft.
The control of an aircraft is achieved through the use of the control surfaces; which are flaps, ailerons, elevators, and rudder. These surfaces use the principles of aerodynamics to manipulate the airflow around the aircraft, creating forces that control the aircraft’s orientation, direction and speed.
The stability of an aircraft is crucial for safe and controlled flight. An aircraft’s stability refers to its ability to maintain its altitude and direction without oscillating or wobbling. There are three types of stability; longitudinal stability or pitch, lateral stability or roll, and directional stability or yaw.
To achieve stability various techniques are employed these are; the wings are angled slightly upward to improve roll stability, the tail also provides stability by creating a moment arm that opposes changes in pitch and yaw and also the entire fuselage is designed to reduce aerodynamic instability.
The weight of the aircraft is a critical factor in flight operations. Weight affects the aircraft performance, safety and efficiency. Excess weight can lead to; reduced performance, increased fuel consumption, decreased range and endurance and reduced safety margins. Conversely, underweight conditions can lead to; reduced stability, increased risk of stall or spin.
The structural integrity of an aircraft is crucial for its safety and reliability. Structural integrity refers to the ability of the aircraft structure to withstand various stresses, loads and environmental conditions, without failing or compromising its functionality. Aircraft structures are designed to be strong, lightweight and durable.
Piloting skills are essential for safe and effective flight. Pilots need to develop and maintain a range of skills including; stick and rudder skills, navigation skills, communication skills, situation awareness skills, decision making skills, emergency procedure skills, crew resource management skills, aeronautic knowledge and risk management skills.
Also weather condition plays an important and crucial role in aircraft flight. Adequate preparations should be taken in order to prepare for various weather conditions like; clouds, winds, turbulence, thunderstorms, ice, fog, rain, snow, air pressure, temperature. To mitigate these weather-related hazards, pilots use various tools and techniques including; weather forecast, radar and weather radar, weather avoidance instruments flying, de-icing and anti-icing related weather equipment’s.
There are other essential elements necessary to operate an aircraft successfully, some of these elements pertain to the operation of the ground crew comprising of; air traffic control (ATC), aircraft inspection and maintenance, aircraft emergency and crew resource management amongst others.
The future aircraft may involve or incorporate the following technologies; autonomous, artificial intelligence integrated systems, with green power plants or perhaps propelled by Einstein’s proton engine capable of not only supersonic flight on earth but also to transits and fly into the realms of space .
Sources.
- Aerodynamics for engineers by john Anderson.
- Airplane performance, stability and control by Bruce K. Webb.
- Flight dynamics and control by Robert F. Stengel.
- The Aircraft Engineering Handbook by Richard S. Benton.
- Aircraft systems for pilots by ASA( aviation supplies and Academics)
