Yesterday was my first step in learning to fly. If you have ever wanted to learn, here is the beginning information. The cost to become a licensed pilot is ~$7,000 at Harford Airpark. This includes textbook, ground school instruction, use of their airplanes, FAA certified flight instructor, and test fees.
Truth be told, I have it easy in this endeavor. My friend owns a plane and is coaching me. My husband is an aerospace engineer and is able to tutor me as proven last night when he went over my notes and filled in some blanks regarding jargon and technical aspects of flying.
Try this:
Drop a rock and see how gravity makes it fall ; Why? No lift!
Throw a rock and see how a force propells it forward.
Shoot a bullet in the air. Shoot a bullet in water. Water will cause a lot of drag and cause the bullet to go a shorter distance. Air causes much lower drag. Propellor force on a plane needs to be greater than drag to go forward.
Blow on a napkin and see how the air lifts it.
Lesson 101:
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Forces on the plane: gravity, lift, thrust and drag
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Gravity is constant, drag is proportional to velocity, and thrust is provided by the engine and propellor
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Lift is provided by the aerodynamic shape of the wing - airflow causes lower pressure on top of the wing than below resulting in lift. A plane lifts by pushing the throttle in (increasing speed) and pulling out the wheel to point the nose in an upward direction.
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A safe landing is more important than take off ; ) A plane lands by slowing the plane (throttle out) and pointing the nose down (wheel out)
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There are 3 axes for control: pitch, yaw and roll
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The axes are contolled by rudders (pedals) and wheel
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Wheel handles pitch by moving the elevators (horizontal flaps on the tail) and roll (banking) is controlled by turning the wheel
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The rudders control yaw - yaw is the direction that the airplane is pointing
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