Introduction

to
Flight
Second Edition

Tony Mander

A resource supporting the third edition of

The BP Technology Challenge File

The Royal Society

of New Zealand
Contents
Section 1: About flight 1–19 Making your aircraft 26–29
This resource supports 1 About the foam material 26
Class levels 2 Gluing 27
Science? Technology? or both? 2 General instructions for construction 27, 28
Justifying a topic in ‘Flight’ 3 Balancing the forces: gravity and lift 29
The beginning of heavier-than-air, powered flight 5 Flying your aircraft 30, 31

What is ‘flight’? What is ‘flying’? 6 Adding more controls 32

Examples of aircraft 7 Measuring flight performance 32, 33

Understanding basic principles of flight 8–15 Extensions 34

Lift, and other forces 8 Bibliography 35
Basic equations 8
Section 3: Model aircraft plans 36–49
Generating lift; Bernoulli 9
Pictorial index to the aircraft plans 36
Lift and wings; Creating pressure differences 10
1 Small, simple aircraft plan 37, 38
Angle of attack; stalling 11
2 Delta-winged aircraft plan 39
Angle of attack in various flight situations 12
3 Low-wing aircraft plan 40
Lift summary 13
Weight 13 4 Canard (‘tail-first’) aircraft plan 41
Drag 14 Canard, twin-boom aircraft details 42
Thrust and power 15 Powered aircraft 42
Stability and controlled flight 16 5 Twin-boom, inverted ‘V’ tail model plan 43, 44
Balancing lift and weight forces: roll, yaw, pitch 17 6 Large aircraft plans, two versions 45–49
Investigating elements of flight 18
Section 4: Appendices 50–60
Paper aircraft plan 19
Units, Conversion factors, Newton’s Second Law 50
Section 2: Designing, making and flying International Standard Atmosphere 51
simple model aircraft 20–35 Concorde, paper darts and bumble bees 52
The materials 20 Wind shear, eddies around obstructions 52
Providing a context 21 Aircraft flying in windy conditions 53
Revising principles of flight for your gliders 21, 22 A few significant dates 54
Designing your own model aircraft 22–26 Visits to aircraft museums 55, 56
Bungee launching 26 Human performance and flight 57–58
Index 60

Text, model designs, illustrations and document production by Tony Mander

© 1998, 1999 by BP Oil New Zealand Ltd and Tony Mander.

Second Edition 1999. Elements of the material in this publication
may be reproduced only for use in a classroom; otherwise it may not
be reproduced nor stored in any form.
Enquiries should be addressed to:
The BP Technology Challenge Second Edition, August, 1999
c/o The Royal Society of New Zealand This edition has minor corrections,
P O Box 598 more plans to give a wider range of
Wellington ‘starters’ and to develop skills, and is
New Zealand organised into more coherent sections.
Section 1: About Flight
For each of them, the most im-
portant thing in living was to
reach out and touch perfection
in that which they most loved
to do, and that was to fly.
‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’,
by Richard Bach
As a teacher, you should first make
all of the model aircraft that your
class may build from the plans so
that you are familiar with the
techniques and likely problems.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Flight is fascinating!
Flight is a phenomenon which interests most people; as children we may have
watched birds soaring and dreamed of flying. Humankind understood flight
was possible from observing birds, but it took hundreds of years to achieve
and cost many lives. Consequently, we have a rich legacy of stories of the many
attempts to fly. The intrinsic sense of wonder about flight can be utilised for
starting points in developing an understanding of basic principles of how
things fly; birds and aircraft utilise the same principles.
Flight can provide lifelong study and interest, perhaps also including experi-
encing the excitement, satisfaction and near magical feeling of flying an
aircraft. When teaching ‘flight’ don’t underestimate the depth and amount of
knowledge available on all aspects of flight and of aircraft. This book barely
scratches the surface!
The material in this book has been selected to try to provide you with a basic
understanding of how heavier-than-air machines (and birds) fly so that you
would be able to help your students develop sufficient knowledge and under-
standing to make simple flying machines (model aircraft) which work. It has
avoided a mathematical treatment in an effort to focus on key ideas, but you
should be aware that flight theory is dependent on the use of mathematical
models. As your students’ aircraft may not always fly successfully, you will be
asked to help them solve the problem of “why doesn’t it work?”, which re-
quires that you understand basic principles of flight.
This book supports
‘The BP Technology Challenge File’
This book is intended to support the ‘flight’ Challenges in “The BP Technology
Challenge File”, 3rd Edition (pages 4.17, 4.18). These Challenges are difficult
because they require some knowledge of core principles of aircraft design.
The simple materials specified also restrict the designs possible and add to the
difficulty. You could substitute the materials suggested in the designs here.
The background notes on flight (pages 5.14, 5.15 in the File) were of necessity
very brief and intended only as a starting point. As teachers are very busy it
was recognised that a more detailed but still basic resource was needed.
One common request is to “add more technology” to the Challenges, which
can be more difficult than is immediately apparent. This book aims to help
you do that by providing information to design and make ‘authentic’ and
well-performing flying models from materials more durable than paper, but
not expensive, and helping your students gain knowledge about flight.
This book includes suggestions and plans for model aircraft built from foam
plastic trays of the type used in supermarkets to display fresh food. Keeping the
cost low is part of the philosophy of ‘The BP Technology Challenge’. The
resulting model aircraft are durable, fly very well, and provide opportunities for
measuring flight performance to gain further understanding of aircraft and of
flight. Several aircraft plans, from simple to difficult to make, are included in
Section 3 to provide starting points and to use when developing skills in reading
a plan, cutting out parts from the material, construction techniques, and flying.
Performance Challenges for aircraft built from the designs included or from
student’s own designs are suggested in ‘Providing a context’ on page 21.
This book is intended as a teacher resource, not as a resource for students. It
is intended primarily for teachers with some interest in flight, although only
basic aspects of aerodynamics and flying are described.
1

This introduction to flight is in-
tended to provide teachers with
sufficient information about the
topic for them to plan suitable stu-
dent learning experiences. Topic
outlines are not included, as that
professional planning is best left to
individual teachers. Internet Web
URLs have not been included be-
cause they are liable to change.
The N.Z. technology curriculum
requires ‘knowledge on demand’
because there is no prescribed
content: only areas, contexts and
processes. This ‘Flight’ book will
provide much of the information
required if there is a need to de-
sign, develop and produce model
aircraft. The basic principles by
which aircraft fly will remain un-
changed, but how humankind
utilise them will continue to im-
prove. Aircraft are a significant
technology in human endeavour,
of enduring worth and of societal
significance.
materials
metallurgy
fuels engines heat
dissipation
design
performance
structures
(airframe)
wind tunnels pressurisation
aerodynamics
noise
measurements pilot
control training
reservation systems
systems electronics/avionics
maintenance food flight safety medicine
navigation instrumentation
hydraulics parachutes
Subjects? Domains of Learning? Topics?
2 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Class levels
The teacher information in this book and the model aircraft designs included
are aimed primarily at Years 7–10 (Forms 1–4). However, units on aspects of
flight should begin at earlier levels. Knowledge of the basic principles of flight
are useful to all teachers considering a topic in flight for any class, but essen-
tial if you are considering the designing and making of a model aircraft as
part of a technology unit. Making a model aircraft is an ‘authentic’ activity for
a technology flight unit, especially as it is a hobby for many people worldwide
and the basis of a sizeable industry. Flying models are useful in developing
understanding of basic principles, but the ‘scale effect’ (we can scale aircraft
down, but not the properties of the air) means that models will always have
flying characteristics different to those of full-size aircraft.
This book would also support a unit on flight with older students with the
addition of a more mathematical treatment of some elements. Some of the
material included is aimed at teachers of more senior classes. It would suit
classes in both science and technology. See the bibliography, page 35.
Science? Technology? or both?
It depends on your starting and finishing points. If you are wanting to develop
knowledge about heavier-than-air flight, then it would be a topic in the
domain of science. If you needed to make a model aircraft with a good flight
performance, and where reliability, cost, user-friendliness, etc., were also
considered, then it would be a topic in the domain of technology. One is
aimed at increasing knowledge alone, the other has the starting point and
primary goal of making a real product with a good performance, requiring
knowledge in order to design it and skills to make it and improve it. As a
science topic, the emphasis would be on “knowing why” something could fly;
as a technology topic the emphasis would be on “knowing how” to make a
successful flying machine, which would require “knowing why” knowledge in
addition to ‘making’ skills. Being able to design and make an aircraft is techno-
logical capability – which is an essential element of technology education.
Flight itself is often introduced in schools as a science unit, perhaps with the
aim of developing knowledge of laws of motion and of the behaviour of gases.
However, while scientific research makes an important contribution to flight,
such research is driven by the need to improve the technology of flight so we
can have safer, higher-performing and more fuel-efficient aircraft. More
technology than science is involved, with the limitations of ‘ownership’ by
particular domains of learning quickly becoming apparent.
A topic within ‘flight’ could be anchored in several
low temperature domains of learning and in fact you may need
conditions
to “jump the fences” between domains
paints biology
during the course of the topic.
computers It would be unfortunate if the existence of
physics
the seven essential learning areas in the N.Z
chemisty Curriculum Framework should give the
Flight
flight medicine idea that there are only seven such do-
regulations mains, or that a topic is exclusive to one
engineering
domain of learning; domains are often
clothing meteorology
interdependent, and usually share consider-
flight law able areas of knowledge.
When considering the idea of domains of
life-support learning, it is useful to extend it to the many
systems
domains that a topic within ‘flight’ can encompass.
Be hesitant about considering the idea that a topic in
flight could be both technology and science. Don’t regard
technology as something to be integrated into science (or vice-
versa), but rather as an integrating learning area, standing on its own, having
a distinct culture, and requiring students to draw on their knowledge and
skills acquired from study and experiences in other domains.
 Justifying a topic in ‘Flight’
Topics within ‘flight’ are commonly taught because of their intrinsic interest,
but flight itself is rarely taught to a level where basic principles of aerodynam-
ics are understood. Aircraft are now the dominant form of long-distance
transport, illustrating their enduring worth, significance and societal impact,
from commerce to war. In less than 100 years of flight the progress has been
remarkable.
Units of study in social studies, science and technology can utilise a topic
within the domain of ‘flight’ to achieve various purposes. For example:
Meeting curriculum objectives:
• Developing an understanding of the infrastructure of the air transport
industry, including passenger care (booking systems, food, ventilation
and pressurisation, etc.), freight, maintenance of aircraft, navigation,
border controls and their significance, etc. This topic would provide
contexts for objectives in social studies, science and technology.
• Developing an understanding of how birds and aircraft fly requires
developing knowledge of properties of fluids (air in this instance, but
the same principles apply to water), which match objectives in the
‘Making Sense of the Physical World’ strand of the N.Z. science curricu-
lum, extending to technology if the need is to make a model aircraft.
• Aircraft flight is a useful context for developing an understanding of the
laws of motion, and of ideas of equilibrium, acceleration, mass, force,
and power in real situations, including their measurement; these are all
important elements of the science curriculum.
• Designing and making a product, in this instance a model aircraft,
meets objectives in the technology curriculum (all strands, areas of
Materials; Structures and Mechanisms; and if the unit developed further
to consider radio control: Electronics and Control). It is also a useful
context to consider the difference between a model and modelling.
• Provides ideal contexts to illustrate some fundamental differences
between science and technology, where the “know why” element of
science is important for underlying theory, but that the “know how” of
technology is required to produce a working flying machine.
Many opportunities to lead to and from other curriculum topics; for example:
• Can lead to the study of many topics in most technological areas:
Materials, Structures and Mechanisms, Production and Process, Elec-
tronics and Control.
• Provides ideal contexts to introduce elements of technological practice,
e.g. in the contexts of: engines, airframes, clothing, impact on society of
air travel (including spread of pest organisms and diseases), require-
ments for stringent aircraft checks and documentation, making models
for sale at a school fair and requirements of efficient production, etc.
• As a context to introduce the study of the atmosphere: changes of
pressure and temperature with altitude, weather recordings, weather
phenomena (e.g. jet streams, frosts, relative humidity, dew point, etc.).
• As a context to introduce elements of human biology, especially the
need to provide life-support systems for the low pressures and tempera-
tures at high altitudes, and for the forces a crew must withstand in
turbulence or high-speed manoeuvring. Other elements are effects on
the sensory system, especially on the eardrum with changes of pressure,
on the semicircular canals of the inner ear with aircraft movements, and
how objects and depth are perceived.
• To introduce the practicalities of rapid long-distance transport on the
earth as a rotating ball: navigation, time zones, basis of timekeeping, jet-
lag, seasons (a few hours travel can take you from a subzero winter to
hot summer conditions), etc.
• The effects on a society of mass travel: effects of tourism on cultures,
reducing spread of unwanted organisms and diseases (border controls),
changing job markets, global markets for goods and services, language
requirements, environmental impacts, etc.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 3
 Developing essential skills:
For personal development:
Start with watching how birds fly, in
particular watching them land. No-
tice how they increase the angle of
their wings to the air (the angle of
attack) to slow their flight while
maintaining lift. How do they use
their tails when flying and landing?
Now visit an airport and watch air-
craft land. Note how they also
increase their angle of attack by
raising the nose, to maintain lift
while slowing for landing.
4 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
• Making a model requires good physical skills, especially in using tools,
the use of glues, and techniques to ensure accurate assembly.
• It requires reading a plan, thinking about how various parts interrelate,
and if designing their own aircraft, understanding its operating princi-
ples and how to achieve them in a working machine (design and make
skills).
• It requires the practical application of knowledge.
• There are many elements of the finished aircraft which can be meas-
ured and/or calculated, especially when developing a design to meet
specific criteria, and the data presented in table or graph form (nu-
meracy skills).
• A fascination with flight and the grace and beauty of birds, butterflies
and aircraft seems universal. Understanding the principles adds to the
appreciation.
• Many individuals have fears about flying (but not including those whose
irrational and deep fear of flying prevents them boarding an aircraft),
much of which seems to stem from not knowing what keeps an aircraft
in the air and consequently fearing that it may fall. Knowing that travel
by scheduled aircraft is safer than travel by car does little to reduce
those underlying fears. A good knowledge of how aircraft fly could
contribute towards making air travel more enjoyable and less worrisome
and add another dimension to the experience.
• Many children seem unable to make toys from materials at hand and
the ability to design and make their own toys seems an important part
of a child’s personal development. (The Wright brothers acknowledged
that their interest in flight was kindled as children by their flying toys,
made by Alphonse Pénaud of France.)
• It is important for children to realise that they are not necessarily
dependent on items manufactured by others for their enjoyment, but
can use their own creativity, knowledge and skill to successfully make
their own. There is considerable learning in making and using toys.
• Children (and adults) develop satisfaction, confidence and feeling of
empowerment from being able to design and produce successful items
themselves.
• Making a successful model aircraft can be difficult and helps develop
knowledge and perseverance. As low-cost materials are used, experi-
menting with various designs is affordable. There are many variations
possible, so students who complete their models before those of others
can develop their designs further – or just enjoy them! (The model
aircraft designs were constrained to using ‘foam produce trays’ and hot-
glue guns because they are cheap and likely to be found in most homes.)
• It raises gender issues: for some reason principles of flight and aircraft
are often regarded as ‘more male’ interests, yet women were involved in
flight from its earliest years. Today there are many women pilots,
including senior test pilots for large companies, such as Boeing, and
many who are aeronautical engineers. There are no reasons women
should not be as equally involved as men, and with the increasing
amount of air travel, it is important that women are fully involved.
• Opportunity to gain a greater depth of understanding of aspects of the
many domains of knowledge within ‘flight’, including applying the skills
and knowledge gained in mathematics, science, technology, social
studies, language, art, etc.
• New Zealand has had and continues to have an appreciation of the role
of aircraft for business and for pleasure. Historically, aircraft had an
important role in opening up some areas of the country. Today there is
keen interest in air-sports, from sport flying and home-built aircraft, to
gliding, para-gliding, ballooning, parachuting, and model aircraft.
 The beginning of heavier-than-air, powered flight
Richard Pearse farmed a property
at Waitohi, near Temuka, in South
Canterbury. He experimented with
aircraft, also designing and making
his own engines. He claims a work-
ing prototype aircraft in 1902, with
eyewitness accounts of him first
taking off on 31 March 1902, with
one flight of up to 120 metres. It
wasn’t until early 1904 that a flight
lasting more than a few seconds
was properly recorded, this being
only three months after the Wright
brothers’ flight. He claims to have
invented the aileron* in 1902,
patenting it in 1904. Given the iso-
lation of New Zealand at the time
and the slowness of information
dissemination, it is a considerable
achievement. (*However, Professor
John J. Montgomery of Santa Clara,
California, successfully flew a
manned glider with aileron control
in 1885; perhaps illustrating that
the development of successful
flying machines was the product
of many minds.)
Sources: Pearse: SPORT FLYING (the
journal of the Sport Aircraft Asso-
ciation NZ), July-September, 1997,
Geoff Sloan, page 22;
Montgomery: p.2, Thurston, David.
DESIGN FOR FLYING, 2nd Edn. TAB
Books, 1995.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Attempts to produce people-carrying flying machines have been recorded
since around 850 BC. Unfortunately, attempts to emulate birds often tried to
use flapping wings rather than focus on producing lift. However, by the late
1800s person-carrying kites, balloons and simple gliders had been developed.
Wilbur and Orville Wright made the world’s first recognised powered,
heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills,
near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA. It was the culmina-
tion of several years of testing and calculation, as they
had to develop an aircraft as well as the knowledge and
skills required. Although the Wrights lived in Dayton,
Ohio, where they had a bicycle shop, they carried out
their flying experiments at Kitty Hawk, as it was one of
the windiest areas of the United States.
Starting in September 1900, they camped at Kitty Hawk for a few weeks and
carried out experiments with gliders, initially tethered as kites but later flown
down a slope of Kill Devil Hills, to gain information about lift and control. In
July 1901 they returned to Kill Devil Hills with a larger glider and continued
their tests, making several hundred tests, in tethered flights and gliding, and
finding new information about flight and control – and also learning many of
the skills of piloting an aircraft.
Considering separately the elements of lift, stability and control, and propul-
sion, helped them develop the knowledge and systems required.
In September 1901 they devised a wind-tunnel to make more measurements,
particularly of lift in relation to the camber (net curvature of the upper wing
surface) and aspect ratio (ratio of wing width to wingspan). In September
1902 they returned to Kill Devil Hills with a new glider designed using the
data from their wind-tunnel tests, making 700–800 flights.
Unable to obtain a suitable engine, they designed and built their own four-
cylinder, water-cooled, petrol engine. They developed propeller theory and
built the first propellers with a constant angle of attack throughout the radius.
They returned again to Kill Devil Hills in September 1903, established a camp
and erected a building to house their new powered aircraft, making the first
successful powered, sustained, controlled flight on December 17, 1903.
Although flying toys were available (and the Wrights’ interest in flying was
stirred as children by a toy helicopter made by Alphonse Pénaud of France)
and there were other pioneers, notably Sir George Cayley in England and
Otto Lilienthal in Germany (regarded as the ‘father’ of gliding), the Wrights
had to create nearly all the knowledge that would make powered flight
possible. They systematically developed many aspects of powered flight: e.g.
theory of flight, engines, materials, propellers, pilot skills, instruments for
recording flight details, etc., – a remarkable achievement
They continued to develop their aircraft and in 1904 built a new ‘Flyer’ and
tested it just south of Dayton. Their success triggered a rapid development of
aircraft world-wide. Wilbur died in 1912 after contracting typhoid fever,
Orville died in 1948, in his 77th year.
New Zealand has its claim that Richard Pearse flew a powered aircraft before
the Wright brothers, but unfortunately there is not the same wealth of docu-
mentation nor level of knowledge and so this claim will probably remain
unrecognised. The Wrights carefully documented, in writing and in photo-
graphs, with witnesses where appropriate, the acquisition of their knowledge
of principles of flight and the development of their various aircraft.
New Zealanders realised the advantages of flight very early and hence as a
country we have a long history of flying. There are many opportunities for
introducing stories of flight in our country as part of a language programme.
There would be few schools which could not have access to full-sized aircraft,
either at nearby airfields or through sport flyers – who may also be maintain-
ing some early-design aircraft.
5
 What is ‘flight’? What is ‘flying’?
What to include or omit when discussing ‘flight’ is important in developing
your own understanding. Characteristics of ‘flight’ could include:
• controllable: can be controlled so it can fly in any direction and control the
gain or loss of altitude;
• sustainable: a flying ‘object’ can stay aloft for a period of time;
• can gain altitude.
These characteristics would exclude most parachutes (as their purpose is only
to reduce the rate of falling and to provide some control), although those
designed with an aerofoil are like wings and can sustain altitude using rising
currents of air and are fully controllable (and used in para-gliding).
Hot-air balloons would also be excluded as they have only limited controllabil-
ity. Hot-air balloons fly by flotation, floating in the air much as a tennis ball
would float in water, by displacing its weight of the fluid. Air at sea level, at
‘standard’ pressure (1013.2 kPa) and temperature (15°C) weighs 1.225 kgm-3
(see the International Standard Atmosphere data, p. 51). When heated in a
balloon envelope to contain the heated air, the air expands and is forced out
of the opening at the bottom of the envelope until the pressure inside is the
same as the air outside it (so the shape of the envelope is maintained), but
with the air inside now having a lower density than the air outside. The
difference between the total weight of air in the envelope and the weight of
outside air displaced by the envelope provides the buoyancy to make it float.
A hot-air balloon will rise until the weight of air displaced equals the total
weight of the balloon. Atmospheric pressure (and density) decrease with
increasing altitude, unlike water where the density is effectively constant so an
object which is lighter than water will rise until it reaches the water surface.
(What would be the effect on a hot-air balloon of air density changing with
altitude?) While not included in ‘flight’, balloons are certainly ‘flying’.
fin
Gas-filled balloons using hydrogen and/or helium gas are also lighter than
air and powered, helium-filled dirigibles are again being produced for various
tasks. The first successful round-the-world balloon flight (1–20 March, 1999)
tailplane
was by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in the ‘Breitling Orbiter 3’, a Rozier
fuselage
hybrid helium and hot-air balloon. (What weather phenomena did they use to
traverse the world so quickly? What atmospheric factors would affect the
wing
buoyancy of hot-air balloons and of gas balloons? What design features would
balloons need to float at the high altitudes required? What life-support require-
ments have to be provided, and what are the problems of
captive balloon providing life-support systems in a balloon capsule?)
not mechanically
Aircraft driven free balloon Balloons illustrate the difference between elements of a
lighter functional definition of a ‘flying machine’ and a legal
than air definition; as balloons occupy airspace they are subject to
mechanically driven airship most of the regulations for heavier-than-air aircraft.
The concept of ‘flying’ is also different from that of
kite ‘flight’; flying requires piloting skills whereas flight is
not mechanically hang-glider what makes heavier-than air-flying possible. ‘Flying’ also
Aircraft driven glider includes the piloting of any machine legally defined as
heavier
than air occupying airspace; see the illustration on the left.
helicopter
mechanically driven On the next page are pictures of various flying machines
gyroplane and birds (you could make an OHP transparency from it).
They all fly, but obviously are designed for different
aeroplanes
purposes and hence look different, although there are
motor-glider seaplane similarities. The wings of some examples appear similar
(e.g. the glider, albatross and human-powered aircraft);
microlight landplane amphibian
what performance characteristics must be supplied by
their similar wing shape? Where are the ‘wings’ on a
helicopter and what enables it to hover in one place, whereas all other aircraft
must move through the air? (The helocopter ‘wings’ rotate, so they are still moving
through the air even when the aircraft itself is hovering in one place.) As the diagrams
show, every aircraft is a compromise in order to have the required flying
characteristics for its particular niche.

6 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

 United States

Concorde
supersonic transport space-shuttle

‘stealth’ bomber

A typical jet
passenger transport

high-performance glider
(sailplane)

helicopter

soaring bird (e.g.

gull, albatross)

human powered aircraft

hang-glider
delta kite

Harrier ‘jump-jet’
paper dart boomerang (vertical takeoff )

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 7

 Understanding basic principles of flight

It is useful to consider heavier-than-air flight under three aspects:

• Providing the lift to fly (and considering other forces)
• Stability and control
• Providing the power

Lift, and other forces

Obviously, without some ‘lift’ force, gravity wins and we would stay on the
ground. For an aircraft to fly there has to be a lifting force which at the least
must equal its weight. For an aircraft to fly in a controlled and stable manner
all the forces operating on it must be balanced – and it is usually desirable
that it can return to a ‘safe’ flying position if its flight is disturbed.
The four major forces are lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Stable flight would
require that all these forces are in equilibrium (balanced).
Lift is the upward force required to overcome gravity, being produced by a
wing as it moves through the air; no wing movement, no lift.
Weight is the effect of gravity pulling down on the mass of the aircraft.
Thrust is the forward force required to move an aircraft through the air,
overcoming drag (and providing sufficient speed for a wing to develop
enough lift to fly). This must be provided by an engine, by gravity
(glider, sailplane), or by muscles (birds).
Drag is the resistance to airflow and consequently retards the progress of
an aircraft through the air, arising from disturbing the air as it moves
through it, and from the skin friction due to the viscosity or ‘stickiness’
of the air. The drag force is opposite to the flight path.
Lift

A glider is an aircraft flying Thrust Drag

without an engine; a sailplane
In steady, level flight:
is a high-performance glider
Lift = Weight
designed to soar (gain altitude)
Weight Thrust = Drag
in rising currents of air for
sustained flight.

Basic equations
In sustained level flight at a constant speed, where all forces are in equilib-
rium, these equations can be written:
lift = weight
thrust = drag
Even when an aircraft flies at different speeds in level flight the lift must
always equal the weight.
The lift could be increased by having a larger wing area (although it would
weigh more, so more lift is then needed anyway), by flying faster, by flying in
air of greater density, or by having a wing with greater lifting effect (a higher
coefficient of lift). Extending the lift equation:
Lift = weight = some function of air density (ρ), velocity (V ), wing area (S ),
and coefficient of lift (C L )

The standard formula for lift is shown in the ‘coefficient of lift’ box on the
next page; their relationships are derived from the Bernoulli Principle, also
shown on the next page. Although there is no need to know this formula, it is
important to realise the interdependence of each factor.

8 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight


Air pressure 101,300 N m -2
(at rest, sea level, standard atmosphere)
1 square metre
Air pressure 101,300 N m -2
Energy is stored in the
“springiness” of the pressurised
air of the atmosphere. Air
pressure arises from collisions
with molecules of the gases in
the air.
Force due to air pressure is at
right angles towards all surfaces
equally on an object at rest – and
the pressure is considerable!
Pressure reduces when air moves
over the surfaces.
If air moves faster over one
surface the pressure is reduced
further on that surface, leaving
more pressure on the other
surface. These unequal pressures
will result in a force towards the
lower pressure surface.
static pressure (= k)
no air movement
over both surfaces
static pressure (= k)
static pressure + dynamic pressure = k
static pressure
dynamic pressure
if air
moves
over one
surface
static pressure (= k)
creating different air speeds over
upper and lower surfaces creates
different pressures on them
Wings are designed for particu-
lar needs and vary in their
efficiency in producing lift. The
‘lift efficiency’ of a wing is ex-
pressed as the coefficient of
lift (C L ); it is only a multiplier.
Each aerofoil has its own C L .
Taking all these into account,
the lift equation would be:
lift = ‘efficiency’ of wing (C L ) x
dynamic pressure x wing area
The equation is:
L = C L 12 ρV 2 S
L lift
CL coefficient of lift
2
1
2 ρV dynamic pressure
S wing area
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Lift increases with air speed, or more accurately, with increased velocity and
density of air flow. If the weight of an aircraft is increased (by a greater load),
then lift also has to be increased by flying faster, and/or at a greater angle of
attack. For an aircraft to fly faster, either more thrust is required or the drag
must be reduced – but drag also increases with increased speed! Obviously,
there must come a point where the thrust will be insufficient to provide the
extra speed required for the increased lift, limiting the load it can carry (see
the graph on page 15). Likewise, the decreasing density of air with increasing
altitude means that there is less lift developed when an aircraft flies higher, so
it would need to fly faster to compensate; its speed (and lift) being limited by
the engine thrust available. Powered aircraft are limited to a maximum
height, or ‘ceiling’, by the excess thrust available to climb.
Generating lift: air mass and pressure differences
To fly, aircraft (and birds) must give the air flowing around their wings a
downward push sufficient to equal their weight. According to Newton’s
Second Law of Motion (page 50), the upward force from this momentum
transfer will be equal to the mass of air per second affected by a wing, multi-
plied by the downward velocity imparted to the air. Wings are very effective at
imparting a downward motion to the air provided the amount of deflection
isn’t too great, which creates problems (see ‘stalling’ on page 11).
The wings of aircraft and birds create a difference in pressures between the
upper and lower surfaces of a wing as a way to transfer downward momentum
to air and gain a consequent upward reaction (lift).
What about Bernoulli?
Most posters on flight adorning classroom walls probably have a diagram
illustrating the “Bernoulli Principle”. Incidentally, Bernoulli had nothing
directly to do with the development of aircraft, he died in 1782.
When an object is at rest in air, so there is no relative movement, the (static)
pressure of air presses equally on all sides of it because molecules of the gases
in the air are colliding with it from all directions all over it.
However, when air begins to move over a surface, the static pressure on the
surface decreases – some of the static pressure becomes dynamic pressure
(the pressure that moving air would exert on a surface used to ‘dam’ the
airflow). The total pressure stays the same, providing density and temperature
don’t change, as there is still the same number of molecules of air gases.
Daniel Bernoulli was the first to describe mathematically the variation in
pressure exerted by a moving mass of fluid, the situation his equations de-
scribes is known as the Bernoulli Principle:
P + 12 ρV 2 = a constant [P is (static) pressure, ρ is density, V is velocity]
Three things to note from this equation are:
• The ‘principle’ is that: static pressure + dynamic pressure = a constant;
or in other words, the sum of the pressure energy and the velocity (kinetic)
energy in a given volume of air is a constant.
If dynamic pressure (air speed) increases, then static pressure must de-
crease as the sum of the two must, according to this equation, always be the
same. Therefore, the faster the airflow, the lower the static pressure, so if
air flows faster over the upper wing surface, pressure will be lower there.
• Lift (the ratio of static to dynamic pressure) is proportional to the square
of the air speed, so a small speed increase can produce a lot more lift, just
as a small decrease will produce a lot less lift, because the mass of air being
disturbed per second changes greatly. (As an aircraft reduces speed coming
in to land, and we know that the lift must always equal its weight, how does
it maintain lift at these much lower speeds? See angle of attack, p.11.)
• Lift is also proportional to the air (fluid) density, so as an aircraft flies
higher into air of lower density the lift produced will be less as there is less
air mass. (Does this explain why, on a long-distance flight, a Boeing 747
increases altitude as it burns off fuel? It needs less lift as it becomes lighter.)
9

Most of the downward push im-
parted to air by a wing is a result of
pressure differences it creates be-
tween upper and lower wing
surfaces. There is also a downflow
of air from a positive angle of at-
tack, increased by the downwash
caused by the pressure differences.
These are not separate sources of
lift but are different aspects of the
same process of creating a pressure
difference between upper and
lower wing surfaces.
wing
angle of
attack airflow
The closer streamlines
aren’t compression – air
has gone from a slow, fat
‘parcel’ to a faster, skinny
one of the same area.
Lift and wings
A wing producing lift accelerates air over its upper surface and slows it be-
neath, causing the pressure on its lower surface to be greater than the
pressure on the upper surface, transferring momentum to the air and giving
an upward force: lift. From the Bernoulli equation, the lift force is propor-
tional to the velocity and density of the air (i.e. an aircraft’s speed and
altitude). The total lift is also related to the wing area; a larger wing affects more
air so more momentum can be transferred, producing greater total lift (force =
pressure × area).
In other words, more lift will be produced by faster flight and by larger and
more efficient wings. (Throw your model glider faster than its ‘level’ flying
speed and the higher lift would make it climb; throw it too slowly and it would
fall because insufficient lift was produced.)
Creating pressure differences on a wing
When an aircraft is flying, the air separates to flow over both the upper and
lower surfaces of the wing. Where the upper wing surface has more upwards
curve (camber) than the lower surface, either by its shape or from its angle of
attack, it is very effective at accelerating air circulation over the upper surface,
and slowing it under the wing. According to the Bernoulli equation, the
greater speed of air over the upper surface causes the air to exert less pressure
on it, so the now greater pressure on the lower surface gives an upward lift
force. The lift and downflow of air increases with increasing angle of the wing
to the airflow (angle of attack) until a critical (stalling) angle is reached.
The difference in pressures between the upper and lower surfaces transfers
an upward push to the wing, plus the reaction from downward deflection of
air, produces the total upward force that we call lift.
The diagram below shows how the air travels over a wing as though we could
see it. Airflow is made visible for research by smoke streams in the air, and by
wool tufts and special paint on wings in wind tunnels and on aircraft in flight.
Lower pressure
The lines faster airflow (velocity inc
represent rease
wing section s with
angle The smoother
the airflow of atta
upflow slower airflow ck) the air here
over a wing downfl
Higher pressure ow the less drag is
produced

Note that ‘camber’ really means the difference in curvature between the
chord midline or mean camber line upper and lower surfaces. A symmetrical wing section has no camber so will
line produce lift only when at a positive angle of attack.
The wing section is streamlined so air flows over it as smoothly as possible,
actual camber of this wing giving maximum lift in relation to drag. At increasing angles of attack the air
will begin to separate from the wing surface, reducing lift and creating more
drag. The less the air is disturbed in random directions (turbulence) when
creating lift, the greater the lift that will be produced in relation to drag. For
landing, ‘flaps’ are used to increase lift by increasing the camber and to also
Diving lift airflow increase drag by pushing air downwards, so aircraft can be slowed while
wing descending and can land at a reasonable speed while still maintaining suffi-
weight
cient lift (see the diagram on page 12). Flaps are used at small angles of
extension for takeoff as they then increase lift without also increasing drag.
Level flight lift The lift force is perpendicular to the airflow over the wing. It is the airflow
airflow over the wing (‘relative wind’) which determines the direction of lift.
wing
As most lift is produced by creating differences in pressure between the upper
weight
and lower surfaces of a wing, the lower the atmospheric (static) pressure, and
Climbing lift therefore the lower the mass of air available to be affected, the less the differ-
ence (and lift) which can be created. Consequently, where the density and
airflow pressure of air is lower, at high altitudes or when it is hot for example, then
wing
weight less lift can be generated. Aircraft therefore would have to reduce their weight
(load) or fly faster to create the required lift in high and/or hot conditions,
Lift is always perpendicular especially for takeoff where the reduction of available engine power in these
to the airflow over the wing
conditions becomes a major limiting factor.

10 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

 Angle of attack
If you have ever ‘flown’ your hand out of a car window you will know that the
angle at which you hold your hand affects the ‘lifting’ effect. It is similar with
an aircraft wing: changing its angle to the air also changes its lift (and drag).
The angle of a wing to the airflow is called the angle of attack; it is controlled
by the elevators. Increasing the angle of attack increases lift by increasing the
effective camber and air speed over the upper surface and by increasing the
downward ‘push’ on the air (i.e. the downward velocity of air increases). Drag
also increases, mostly from the separation of air from the upper wing surface,
as shown by these graphs for a “typical” wing. Note the rapid reduction in lift
after the stalling angle, while drag continues to increase after the stall.

0° 15° 0° 15°
Lift 1.4
Ordinary angles of flight There is a Drag 0.28 Ordinary angles of flight
coefficient sudden increase coefficient
in separated
1.2 airflow after the 0.24

Stalling angle
stall angle
1.0 0.20
Stalling angle

excessive
deflection = problems!
0.8 0.16

increasing deflection
0.6 of air downwards 0.12

0.4 0.08

0.2 0.04

0 0
-4° 0° 4° 8° 12° 16° 20° -4° 0° 4° 8° 12° 16° 20°
Angle of attack Angle of attack

Increasing the angle of attack increases the lift – until it stalls

The point where air divides
(’stagnation point’)
Increasing the angle of attack moves the
point where the air divides rearwards, in
effect increasing the camber, which
increases lift.
The rearward shift of
the stagnation point
can be used to operate stall
a simple stall warning warning
vane, which is pushed vane
upwards by the
changed airflow to
operate a warning horn.
An aircraft with a symmetrical aerofoil
will easily fly inverted as it develops lift
only at a positive angle of attack; an
aircraft with a cambered (i.e. non-
symmetrical) aerofoil will fly inverted (if
permitted) provided the angle of attack
is sufficient to allow an increased upper
surface, as shown here:
As the angle of attack increases, the point where air divides to flow over the
wing (see diagram left) moves rearward, in effect increasing the camber and
acceleration of air over the upper surface, and increasing the downward push
on the air, increasing the total lift. However, air also increasingly separates
from the upper surface, increasing the drag. If the angle of attack is increased
too much, the separation of air from the upper surface suddenly increases.
The large amount of turbulent air that results over the upper surface reduces
the difference in pressures between upper and lower surfaces and destroys
much of the lift. This condition is called a stall. Note the lift curve at increasing
angles of attack on the left graph above and airflow separation from an aerofoil
at selected angles. Angles of attack in various flight situations are shown on the
next page.
The diagram below shows the separation of the air flow from the upper
surface of a wing as it stalls.
At a high angle of attack the airflow separates from
the wing, producing much less lift and higher drag
large
turbulent
wake (less
lift, higher
drag)
wing
angle of
attack
airflow
Most wings stall at angles of attack above 15° (as shown)

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 11

 Note: Be cautious about using the
common classroom demonstration
of lift by folding a piece of paper
into an aerofoil shape, threading it
on to vertical strings or straws, and
blowing on it and watching it rise.
Unless the angle of attack is con-
trolled (e.g. 0 – 3°), and the supports
remain vertical and are threaded at
the centre of lift for this angle, the
demonstration may show little
more than the reaction of the pa-
per to changing the direction of the
airflow (especially if the angle of
the paper aerofoil is >15°), not lift
generation by an aerofoil. Drag is
usually not considered in this dem-
onstration, and controlling drag is a
crucial factor for efficient flight.
lift
air
paper wing
A stalled condition is not the same as having too slow a speed to generate
enough lift to fly, although they can be related. The major cause of stalling is
when the angle of attack is too large for the airflow to remain attached to the
upper wing surface – the airflow is unable to ‘curve’ sufficiently to remain
attached. When the airflow separates there is a loss of lift, an increase in drag,
and a rearward shift of the centre of lift, causing the aircraft to lower its nose,
reducing the angle of attack and regaining lift. For many aerofoils (the specific
shape of a wing section) this stalling occurs at about 15° angle of attack. A
rounded wing leading edge allows a wider range of angles of attack by helping
air remain attached to the upper wing surface better than on an aerofoil with
a sharp leading edge. On a well-behaved aircraft there will be a warning that a
stall is imminent by a buffeting movement, as a wing is usually designed to stall
from the centre outwards (rather than at the tip first which would increase the
risk of a loss of control), and the tailplane may be buffeted by that detached and
turbulent air. The risk of stalling is greatest when turning, and at low speeds with
high angles of attack, as when landing. To prevent a wing stalling first at the tip it
may be given a small upward twist towards the tip, called ‘washout’ (see p. 14).
Note: don’t confuse the angle of attack with the attitude of the aircraft (e.g. it
could be climbing at a low angle of attack), nor with the rigging angles of wings
and tailplane (their angles with respect to each other and to the aircraft thrust
line); the angle of attack is the angle of a wing to the airflow towards it.

Angle of attack in various flight situations

Fast, level flight
Thrust = Drag
Lift = Weight

air flow
Angle of attack (zero
or slightly negative)

Slow, level flight

Thrust = Drag
Lift = Weight

Angle of attack air flow

Next time you are flying in a passenger jet

aircraft, watch the wing prior to landing. Note a
strip of the leading edge extend to increase the Descending Thrust = Drag
camber, either as a ‘droop snoot’, or with a gap to Lift ≤ Weight
make a slot to help air remain attached on the
upper wing surface at high angles of attack (the air flow
Angle of attack
extension is then called a slat). Watch the flaps
extend at the trailing edge to increase lift at low
speed at any angle of attack. Flaps increase the Climbing angle
camber and may also increase wing area. At small Thrust > Drag
extension angles they increase lift with little extra Lift ≤ Weight
drag (and are used at small angles on takeoff ), (the upward thrust
enables it to climb)
but at maximum deflection angles they provide
significant drag, which allows a steeper angle of Angle of attack
air flow
descent and help slow the aircraft for landing
while also ensuring sufficient lift. Note the engine
power needed to supply the thrust to overcome
‘Pulling out’ Lift = Weight + force to
the increased drag. from a dive change direction

air flow

Leading edge ‘droop snoot’ or
slats (shown) and slotted Fowler flaps
(at the trailing edge) can greatly increase
the lift (and drag!) at a low airspeed, allowing
a lower landing speed
Angle of attack
The lift required here would be the weight of the aircraft plus
the force required to change its direction. As the pilot raises
the nose of the aircraft to ‘pull out’ from the dive the resulting
high angle of attack risks the wing stalling and losing much of
its lift (if that happened at low altitude it would crash).

12 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

 Wings may be tapered to more evenly distribute the
lift forces over the wing and to reduce induced drag,
but tapered wings also tend to stall first at the tip. A
wing trailing edge twisted tip-stall can cause one wing to drop, which for a
slightly upwards at the tip model aircraft could cause it to spin downwards and
Look at the wing from the rear
crash. To reduce the chance of a tip-stall each wing
is given a small (~2°) upward twist of the trailing
edge from the wing root to the tip to reduce the
It must not bend down along the trailing edge towards each tip; angle of attack towards the tip. The twist is called
it is better if the trailing edge bends slightly upwards (’washout’) ‘washout’; the cost can be some extra drag from the
higher angle of attack at the centre. Full-size aircraft
use a range of techniques to ensure the inner portion
of a wing stalls before the outer portion to warn the
pilot while full control is still present (especially as
ailerons are usually located near the tips).

Lift summary
Lift is generated perpendicular to the airflow, and is affected by:
• the velocity of air over the wing (faster flight generates more lift)
• the angle of attack of the wing (lift and drag both increase with increasing
angle of attack until the wing stalls and loses much of its lift; drag contin-
ues to increase); the angle of attack is controlled by the elevator.
• the wing area (larger wings can generate more lift)
• the effectiveness (coefficient of lift) of the wing – wings can vary in how
effectively they produce lift.
• the air density, affected greatly by air temperature and by altitude; at a
lower air density an aircraft has to fly faster to maintain the lift – impor-
tant factors for full-size aircraft but of little significance for models.
In other words, more lift is gained by having a larger wing, a more effective
wing, by a greater angle of attack, and by flying faster. For model aircraft we
can ignore the effect of air density. Other factors to note are:
• Too high an angle of attack results in a stall and loss of most of the lift.
• And, explained in the section below on stability, a wing is inherently un-
stable and needs its unbalanced forces controlled to provide stability,
especially the forward pitching moment at ‘normal’ angles of attack.

fin

tailplane The other forces: weight, drag and thrust

fuselage
wing
Weight
A reminder of the major Weight is gravitational force acting on a mass, in this instance Earth’s gravity
parts of an aircraft acting on the mass of the aircraft, and it always acts directly downwards. The
unit of mass is the kilogram, the unit of weight is the newton. In general use,
kilograms are used as a measure of weight, but in equations involving weight
the unit must be the newton.
A newton, N, is the force required to give a 1kg mass an acceleration of 1ms -2
(1 metre per second each second). Acceleration due to gravity is 9.81ms -2 and
gravity pulls downwards on all mass on Earth. For most purposes we can use
the approximation that 1kg ≈ 10N, or 1N ≈ 0.1kg.
The wing loading is the weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wings,
expressed as newtons per square metre of wing (Nm -2). The higher the wing
loading the higher the airspeed is required to generate the necessary lift (but
airspeed is limited by the thrust, takeoff speed, airframe strength, etc.).

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 13

 Drag
Any movement through a fluid will produce drag, a force resisting movement
through the fluid. The amount of drag is related to the speed of movement
and to the shape of the object. To illustrate, place your hand in water: there is
little drag when your hand is moved slowly, but as you move it more quickly,
the drag increases. The amount of drag also depends on the area and shape
your hand presents to the fluid. To move your hand against the drag requires
a force, provided by your muscles in this example.
In flight at a steady speed there must be a force (or thrust) to move an aircraft
forwards, and at a constant speed the drag always equals the thrust, otherwise
an aircraft would change speed until a new equilibrium is reached.
Drag has several major sources: from skin friction caused by the viscosity (‘sticki-
ness’) of the air as it passes over the exterior of the aircraft; from pressure drag
arising from air disturbance (the combined drag is called parasitic drag, which
increases with increasing velocity); and drag caused mostly by a wing generating
lift as an aircraft flies through the air, called induced drag, which decreases with
increasing velocity as the angle of attack becomes less. However, the total drag
increases with increasing velocity and increasing angle of attack.
A circular rod produces the
same amount of drag as this Birds and aircraft aim for low drag to reduce the energy required for thrust.
Air flow streamlined section Well designed aerofoils and streamlined shapes have very low drag. A thick
wing section provides more lift and much less drag than the thin wings and
external bracing used on early aircraft, with the added advantage of having all
wing structures within the wing section. Note: at tran-
The greater pressure under a wing forces the air outwards from sonic and supersonic speeds the wing requirements
underneath, making it spiral off the tip in a vortex. The tip vortex differ and thin wings are essential.
affects the air over the remainder of the wing, producing a
downwash* and increasing drag. To reduce drag, the tip needs
Drag produced from generating lift, the induced drag, is
to affect as little of the wing as possible by being as far away as from the wing downwash moving the lift vector rear-
possible, which is why gliders have a high aspect-ratio wards. Lift is always at right angles to the airflow over the
(span : width) wing. The tip vortex on large aircraft is very strong. wing, so if the airflow is deflected downwards then the
*Note: the downwash is in addition to the downflow normally
produced by an aerofoil. ‘angle’ of the lift tilts rearward accordingly. Downwash
results from the pressure on the lower surface of the
wing being higher than that on the upper surface,
down making the air flow outwards from the lower surface. In
wash
effec t tip vortex particular, it flows out from the tip, curling over towards
the lower pressure upper surface. This results in a
rotating vortex at the tips which also influences the air
near it, causing greater downwash of air along the wing.
upper ( ): airflow towards the centre
lower ( ): airflow towards the tips Sailplanes, and albatrosses, have long, narrow (high
aspect ratio) wings so that the tip vortex affects as little
angle of attack reduced, and lift vector of the wing as possible, reducing drag and increasing
tilted rearwards by downwash, wing efficiency.
reducing lift and increasing drag
downwa The viscosity (‘stickiness’ or resistance to flow) of the air
from tip-v sh
ortex is an important feature of full-size aircraft, and is espe-
cially important in the ‘boundary layer’, the layer of air
remaining stuck to the aircraft surface. It is one of the
Why do many recent aircraft have many aspects of flight we won’t be considering further,
winglets? They help control the although significant for model and full-size aircraft.
tip vortex and extract lift from it
One important element of aircraft design is the lift to drag ratio (details of
to give forward thrust, reducing
calculating this for your model aircraft are on p. 33). The graph on the next
some of the drag penalty – worth
their extra cost and weight.
page shows the lift/drag ratio (L/D) in relation to the angle of attack.
Drag increases
Lift is perpendicular to Drag with speed
the airflow, so winglets In summary: total drag
produce a lift force with winglet increases with increasing Total drag (induced + parasitic) Note: in level
a forward component angle of attack and with flight, so lift is
constant at all
velocity, as shown in the Drag increases with speeds
wing graph right (see also the increasing angle of
tip vortex attack
drag and angle of attack Parasitic drag
graph on page 11). (frictional + pressure drag)
Plan winglet vortex
view: wing Best L/D Induced drag
lift from vortex
Velocity

14 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight


A coefficient of drag can ex-
press the ‘slipperiness’ or
otherwise of an aircraft; the
equation is similar to that for
the coefficient of lift:
2
D= C D 12 ρV A
D drag
CD coefficient of drag
1
2 ρV 2 dynamic pressure
A aircraft surface area
Piston engine thrust is stated as
engine power, in kilowatts or in
horsepower. Brake horsepower
(BHP) is the power available to the
propeller; the thrust horsepower
is the power available to the air-
craft: = BHP x the efficiency of the
propeller (usually around 80%).
One horsepower is 550 foot
pounds per second.
Jet engine thrust is stated directly
as available thrust (kg or pounds),
not as power.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
0° 3° 15°
28
Ordinary angles of flight
Lift/Drag ratio
24
Stalling angle
This graph shows the
20
change in the ratio of
lift to drag at various
Most efficient angle
angles of attack for 16
powered aircraft
(high performance 12
sailplanes can have
L/D ratios >50) 8
4
0
-4° 0° 4° 8° 12° 16° 20°
Angle of attack
Thrust and power
Thrust is the forward push or pull from an engine, or from the wingbeats of a
bird, or from using gravity and the heat energy of the sun. A sailplane (a high-
performance glider) or a soaring bird gains its thrust by ‘sliding downhill’
using the pull of gravity and height (gravitational potential energy) in much
the same way as a bicycle will run freely downhill, tugged downwards by
gravity, until it runs out of slope. Soaring birds and sailplanes use the same
principle, but gain height by either flying in updraughts from a wind blowing
over a hill (or ocean wave) or from rising warm bubbles of air (thermals), the
updrafts being greater than the rate at which they are falling; the energy for
both sources of lift coming ultimately from the sun heating the atmosphere.
Height can be traded for speed and vice-versa. An aircraft can dive and
increase speed, or climb and lose speed. A rapid sustained climb requires a
powerful engine (or, for a sailplane, a source of rapidly rising air, as in a strong
thermal or on the ‘up’ side of a standing wave in wind over a mountain range).
This book doesn’t include discussion of propellers or of engines in general.
Power is the rate of work, the energy expended per second. Energy, work and
heat are measured in joules, so power is measured in joules per second, the
unit is watts: 1 watt = 1J s-1 (joule per second).
Work is simply force times distance; a force is a push or a pull. A joule is
therefore a newton-metre (a force of 1N moving its point of application 1m in
the direction of the force).
Thrust available from an
engine (usually varies with
altitude, temperature, speed) Note how the total thrust avail-
Thrust able limits the maximum
maximum excess thrust
speed, which designers can
available to climb
Maximum speed
calculate in advance. They then
design the airframe to with-
cruise speed & power setting
stand the forces likely to be
experienced in various condi-
tions at that speed. If flying at
less than maximum speed
there is excess thrust which
Thrust required can be used to climb. Different
(it’s actually the drag types of engines have different
curve, as thrust = drag)
power/thrust curves.
Flight speed
15
 Stability and controlled flight
It is obviously important that an aircraft be stable in flight so it doesn’t tumble
out of the air. Early pioneers eventually discovered that a wing is inherently
unstable. This is because the pressure differences over a wing with camber are
not evenly distributed, and the pressure distribution also changes with the
angle of attack. The result is a forward rotating or pitching moment where, at
‘normal’ angles of attack, the forces cause the wing to pitch nose down. The
pitching moment needs to be balanced, either by a tailplane providing a
downward force, or by a foreplane providing an upward force (on ‘tail-first’ or
canard aircraft, which is what the Wright brothers used). A ‘flying wing’
aircraft, which has no other lifting surfaces, uses a reflexed (bent upwards)
trailing edge to counteract the pitching moment. The location of the centre
of gravity is also very important (see p.17).

unequal pressure distribution

produces a pitching moment
balanced by a tailplane

or, by a foreplane

or, if only a ‘flying wing’, by a reflex trailing edge

a hang-glider has a
reflex trailing edge

If you want a compelling dem-

onstration of the necessity for a
tailplane, break the tailplane off
one of the models which has
flown well and then try to fly it!
(It is easy to make and glue in
place a replacement tailplane.)
Control of an aircraft is on three axes: pitch, roll and yaw, as shown below.
Moving parts of the wing, tailplane and fin surfaces change the camber of
these parts and affect their lift (and their drag) and provide forces to change
the aircraft’s path.

3-axis control

rudder controls
yawing (left/right) yaw pitch

elevators control
A fin is a vertical wing; the rudder pitching (nose
up/down) roll
increases the camber and lift
rudder
ailerons
chord line control
lift rolling

16 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight


Note: this book uses the term
‘centre of lift’ for simplicity and
consistency of terminology.
However, the centre of the total
lift forces is usually and more
accurately called the ‘centre of
pressure’, as lift is the result of
differences of pressure.
lift
weight
When the centre of lift is a little
rearwards of the centre of gravity,
the aircraft will pitch downwards,
counteracted by the negative
angle of the tailplane (longitudinal
dihedral). This arrangement gives
stable flight.
lift
weight
If the centre of lift is ahead of the
centre of gravity the aircraft will pitch
upwards and will be unstable
Hang-gliders are controlled by the
pilot moving his/her body to shift
the centre of gravity. Pushing their
body rearwards moves the CG rear-
wards and raises the nose. Pulling
their body forwards moves the CG
forwards, causing the nose to drop
(reducing the angle of attack and
lift and increasing flying speed).
Likewise for left and right control.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
For an uncontrolled model aircraft, stability in flight is obviously essential. As
the air is rarely still, a model’s flight path is most likely to be disturbed by wind
shear (volumes of air sliding over each other at different speeds), so it must
be able to regain a stable flight path. For most full-size aircraft it is an advan-
tage for them to be stable, but not so stable that they cannot be controlled.
So how can an aircraft ‘know’ how to fly? It’s a matter of balance.
Balancing lift and weight forces
An aircraft can’t be controlled if the forces of lift and weight, thrust and drag
are not suitably ‘balanced’. The points where the forces of lift (upwards) and
weight (downwards) operate through must be sufficiently close together to
allow the control surfaces to affect the aircraft. If they are not, the control
surfaces will not be able to produce sufficient force to control the aircraft.
Thrust is also an important consideration, especially in multi-engine aircraft
because the off-centre thrust that results from an engine failure must still be
controllable, even at low speeds (e.g. during takeoff), one reason for the very
large fins on multi-engine jet passenger aircraft.
The turning moment produced by a wing needs to be balanced by another
surface: a tailplane, foreplane, or reflexed trailing edge, as described above.
In steady flight the lift will equal the weight; if it didn’t the aircraft would sink
or climb. Likewise the thrust will equal the drag; if it didn’t the aircraft would
speed up or slow down. The lift and weight forces must remain close to a
common point. If the centre of lift is ahead of the centre of gravity (CG) then
the aircraft will tilt upwards and could become uncontrollable (and would
probably also stall and lose altitude); if the centre of lift is behind the centre
of gravity then the aircraft could dive downwards, although the tailplane (in a
conventional aircraft) can provide a balancing force providing the centre of
gravity is not too far ahead of the centre of lift. See the diagrams on the left.
For a model aircraft, and for most full-size aircraft, it is best to have the CG
slightly ahead of the centre of lift, this nose-downward force being balanced
by a tailplane, foreplane or reflexed wing. If the aircraft climbs, it will lose
speed, lift will decrease, the nose will fall and it will regain normal flying
attitude; if the nose drops, it will gain speed, lift will increase, the nose will
rise (helped by the downward force from the tailplane) and it will regain
normal flying attitude. For a small model aircraft the final balancing may be
by ‘trial and error’; in full-size aircraft it is derived by calculation.
Roll (lateral) stability
An aircraft needs to fly level, without one wing dropping or having it turn
when not wanted. Dihedral is having the wings tilted upwards to provide
lateral stability. When an aircraft rolls over towards one side, its weight then
acts to that side, which causes it to sideslip. If the wing has dihedral, the angle
of attack of the lowered half of the wing then increases, increasing its lift and
so restoring the aircraft to a level position. Low-wing aircraft (wing at the
bottom of the fuselage) need more dihedral than high-wing aircraft because,
in a sideslip, the fuselage tends to direct air downwards on to the top surface
of the lowered wing, reducing its effectiveness. An aircraft rolls to turn.
Yaw (directional) stability
This is provided by a fin. It must not be too large nor too small. Details on
relationships to other flying surfaces are included in the model section.
Pitch (up and down) stability
With the CG slightly ahead of the centre of lift, pitch stability is provided by the
tailplane having a negative angle of attack with respect to the wing (‘longitudinal
dihedral’), so that it counters the normal forward rotation of the wing and also
balances the slightly forward centre of gravity position; control is by elevators.
17
 Investigating elements of flight

A simple paper aircraft can be used to investigate some factors providing

stable flight. Stable flight in this instance is an aircraft gliding at a constant
speed and angle of descent and with an element of ‘self-correction’ where, if
its flight is disturbed, it will return to the stable flight condition.
Note: a ‘typical’ paper dart with its highly swept delta wing develops lift from
an upper surface wing vortex, especially when it’s flying well, and is similar to
the Concorde in low speed conditions, so its behaviour is different to the
paper aircraft shown here; see page 52 for more details.
This series of simple exercises with a simple paper aircraft is suitable for your
students and will hopefully show you and them some of the elements for
stable flight, in particular:
• the relationship between the centres of lift and gravity,
• how to control the angle of attack,
• the relationship of the angle of attack to flying behaviour, and
• some aspects of stable flight.

First, construct your paper aircraft

Required: A4 paper, paper clips (preferred) or Plasticine-type modelling clay
for weight, sticky tape (or a stapler), scissors (to cut rear of aircraft).
1 Make a simple paper aircraft with a reasonable wing area and with not too
great a sweepback angle on the wing, a normal paper dart won’t work for
this; an example of a design with instructions is shown on the next page.
2 As it has no tailplane it needs a reflexed (bent upwards) trailing edge on
the wing to overcome the normal forward rotation of a wing. About 1cm of
the rear edge of the wing is bent slightly upwards (about 10°) to make
‘elevons’ (combination ailerons and elevators). Apart from countering the
wing rotation, they will help the aircraft maintain stable flight by giving it a
particular ‘angle of attack’ – helping the aircraft stay at one speed and
descent angle. If the speed drops the lift will drop and so the aircraft will
nose down (can’t sustain that angle of attack), will pick up speed again and
the increasing lift and elevons will raise the nose to an angle of attack
matching the way it has been ‘trimmed’ (relative locations of centres of
gravity and lift, setting of elevons, etc.). As it has a simple ‘flat plate’ wing
(no camber) some stability is also gained by a characteristic of a flat wing of
the centre of lift moving rearwards at high angles of attack.
3 Check that it has been constructed carefully before flight testing, especially:
• that the elevons are bent up at no more than about 10–15° (and that is
not much of a bend, don’t have them at 90°!);
• that all surfaces are ‘in-line’; if some are twisted with respect to others it
will not fly straight – look at it from the front to check.
4 Before your paper aircraft can fly successfully, the first step is to balance the
aircraft so that the centre of gravity and centre of lift are close together. Do
this in steps by trial and error to illustrate the effects of their relative
positions. Assuming that the position of the centre of lift will remain in the
same place, we will move the position of the centre of gravity.
• Balance the aircraft by its centre fold on your finger or on a pencil on
the desk and mark the initial point of balance (centre of gravity).
Gently launch it a few times at varying speeds and note its behaviour. If
it consistently flies upwards, then stalls and falls, which it will at this
stage, it needs more weight on the nose, as the centre of gravity is
behind the centre of lift, so pitching the nose upwards.
• Add one paper clip and repeat the process: balance it, mark the centre
of gravity again, test fly. Keep adding paper clips and marking each new
centre of gravity and testing it. For the design shown, three large
triangular paper clips are about right.

18 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

 3. Crease the ‘elevons’
and bend slightly
A4 photocopier paper 2. Fold these corners 20 upwards (about 10°)
upwards to the
centre crease
Note: dotted lines 4. Fold inwards about
indicate folds; solid 10 20mm from the
lines indicate cuts edge, parallel to the
or paper edges centre fold
(folded or cut)

1. Fold in half, crease, then unfold 20

6. Fold the dart in half
on the centre fold
(cut the end, as
shown below, after it
has been completed)

5. Cut here (the width

of the elevon) on
both wings
Remember to straighten
this bend before flying

Note, only bent

slightly (~10°) the ‘elevons’ are bent slightly upwards

Front view 7. Fold the wings down

and the tips up, tape
across the wings
Tape

Side view when finished

20
9. Paper clips on the nose to 8. Cut off here to reduce weight,
balance it (e.g. 3 large clips) especially at the rear

5 Continue this process until the aircraft flies in a straight line at constant
speed in a slightly downward path. Because of its flat-plate wing and
CG too far sweepback, it is likely to oscillate up and down a little. It must fly
back, stalls
and drops downwards to obtain energy, as it trades gravitational potential energy
(height) for kinetic energy (forward motion). The energy driving it
forwards must equal its drag. If its drag was less than the energy making
CG still too
far back, it go forwards it would accelerate until increasing drag equalled thrust.
but better
6 Now experiment with the angle of attack. Raise the elevons slightly and
CG about
launch it slightly slower than before, as it should now fly slower at a
right, may greater angle of attack. Lower the elevons until it flies fast and flat (it
need to needs to be launched a little faster for this, close to its flying speed).
adjust
elevons The distance it flies at different angles of attack may alter, but the flight
times may be similar. Bend the wing leading-edge downwards slightly to
At a low
angle of provide camber – is there an improvement at high angles of attack?
attack, will
fly faster 7 Check the effect of dihedral. With a narrow piece of tape pull each
and further wing downwards so instead of dihedral it has anhedral. Now try flying it.
What happens? (Actually, due to the swept wing it may still be stable, or
At a high hopefully may fly inverted which would really show the effect of dihe-
angle of
attack, will dral on stability. On high-wing jet aircraft, their anhedral counters the
fly slower, excessive lateral stability given by their swept-back high-mounted wing.)
not as far
8 If its wing loading is increased (by increasing the weight), an aircraft
has to fly faster to provide more lift for the higher load. Add some extra
Dihedral weight at the centre of gravity (why there?) such as a few more paper
clips or a small bulldog clip. Now fly it again, notice whether you have
to make it fly faster to cover the same distance from the same height
Anhedral (equivalent to level flight in a powered aircraft) and whether the wings
develop greater dihedral from the greater load now placed on them.

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 19

Section 2: Designing, making and
flying a model aircraft
The materials
This section has general instruc- The following notes refer to making simple model aircraft (gliders) from the
tions applicable to all models foam plastic material in trays used for presenting perishable products in
made from the foam tray material,
supermarkets. These trays are usually thrown away so, apart from reducing the
with parts joined with hot-glue.
costs of this unit, this provides a further use for disposable materials before
It is suggested that the first model they join the waste stream. Hot-glue guns are used to glue the parts together.
be either the delta design (p. 39, or
the V-tail design (p. 37, 38). The materials and equipment required for the models given are:
• Foam polystyrene trays (approximately 21 × 26 cm; one tray for a smaller
model, two trays for a larger model)
Delta • Weight to balance CG (Plasticine; plus five ‘jolt-head’ 40 × 2 mm nails for
the larger aircraft)
• Photocopies of the pages with outlines (cost not included below)
V-tail
• Cutting board and ruler
• Trimming knife (e.g. ‘snap-off’ blade type)
• Hot-glue gun and suitable glue
Foam tray: PLIX 810 EP The foam trays (PLIX 810 EP) shown for the plans included can be purchased
from supermarkets, the ‘Big Fresh’ chain will currently sell them to you
cut out the centre at 10¢ each. Hot-glue is about 4–6¢ per aircraft. Plasticine for weight-
(flat) part ing the nose is expensive and it is suggested that nails be used for the
larger aircraft to reduce the amount required (nails and Plasticine
21 cm
26 cm would cost about 15¢). The total cost using all new materials should not
exceed 41¢ per larger aircraft, or about 21¢ with recycled foam trays. The
smaller aircraft with recycled trays cost around 12–16¢ each.
The plans included fit this size of
foam tray, chosen because it is likely
Apart from the benefits of being a cheap and disposable material which is also
to be more common; smaller trays strong and light in weight, the plastic foam has other advantages over its more
could be utilised by having more of expensive alternative of balsa wood. The properties we can exploit are: it can be
them. 1.5–2 mm thick foam plastic glued readily with hot glue (which is cheap, setting time allows adjustments, has
sheet could be used instead. no solvent); it is tough and doesn’t split readily as balsa wood does; is easily cut
and shaped; allows ‘crease hinges’ for making moving control surfaces; it is
Levels of difficulty of plans waterproof, which means that flying the aircraft over damp grass won’t damage
Scale: 1–5 (1: relatively simple; year 6/7;
them. This is particularly useful for winter flying when grass is damp; winter is
5: most difficult; years 8–10+) ideal because there is usually a greater number of calm days. The waterproof
property also allows experimentation on the effects of water drops on the wing.
1 Small, delta-wing
(p. 39) However, the foam sheet is less rigid than balsa wood, and because it is used in
short lengths it tends to fracture at the joins in the fuselage on hard landings or
2 Small, V-tail, low
aspect ratio (p. 37, 38) collisions (hence ‘V’ joints for greater strength on the larger model).
Plans for six aircraft, with high and low aspect ratio wing variants for two of
them, are included in Section 3 as examples and also to provide a basis of
3 Small, V-tail, high comparison for performance. The most easy to make aircraft is the delta-wing
aspect ratio (p. 40,
combined plan); design on page 39, the next most easy design is the V-tail model on page 38,
canard (p. 41); which is perhaps best as a ‘starter’ model as it is close to conventional aircraft;
small, low- both have only four parts and both are made from one foam tray (21 × 26 cm).
wing (p. 40)
A table of levels of difficulty of construction is on the left. Encourage your
students to design and make their own aircraft. Stages of design are summa-
4 Large, low
aspect ratio rised on pages 24–26, but require some knowledge of how aircraft fly.
wing (p. 45–48) You may need to remind your students that, while designing a model aircraft
can be done with only a rudimentary knowledge of aerodynamics, designing a
5 Large, high full-size aircraft requires knowledge from years of study. The depth of flight as
aspect ratio
wing (p. 45, 47–49); a topic is part of its fascination, able to provide interest for a lifetime, whether
twin-boom model as a hobby or as a profession.
(p. 43, 44)
Core principles of flight are repeated here as a reminder while developing
your own aircraft designs.

20 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight


The same aircraft design could be
specified for each challenge;
alternatively, freedom could be
given to develop any design but
within defined limits (e.g .wing-
span, weight, materials used, etc.).
Add a little extra up
elevator and launch it
level but much faster
than normal …
New Zealand is especially
suited for gliding because, in
addition to thermal and slope
lift, the prevailing westerly
wind over the alpine divide
produces a ‘wave’. This stand-
ing wave, produced in strong
nor-west wind conditions, pro-
duces lift to over 10,000 m and
has allowed ‘out and return’
flights of 2000 km. The wave
crests are often marked by
lenticular (lens-shaped) clouds.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Providing a context
This book supports “The BP Technology Challenge File” (3rd Edition), and a
context of design and flight challenges would allow opportunities to extend
student knowledge of aerodynamic principles. A ‘Challenge’ context helps
provide the necessary element of student ownership, one factor in establish-
ing the authenticity of a technology learning activity.
For example, ‘Challenges’ could be to make an aircraft from a specified
amount of material (e.g. two large trays, or three smaller trays, etc.) which:
(a) takes the least time to fly between two points (so it needs a high wing
loading, least drag and be adjusted to fly fast at a low angle of attack); or
(b) takes the longest time to fly between two points (so it has to fly slowly and
efficiently at that speed with a low rate of sink); or
(c) can remain in the air the longest after launch (several possibilities: it
could be allowed to be launched in any way, such as upwards at high
speed and then regain a stable glide position; or it could be launched
from a position where it is not allowed to be thrown higher than speci-
fied; or launched by a ‘standard’ catapult, etc.); or
(d) can fly the furthest from a standard launch position (so it needs to have a
high lift to drag ratio), and perhaps also fly straight; or
(e) is the most controllable: e.g. the same aircraft could fly in a straight path
between two lines so it passes between two poles near the end; then on a
second flight, on a curved path so it flies around a pole, etc. (this may
require adding ailerons and elevators in addition to the rudder to allow
the aircraft to be trimmed for each successive flight condition); or
(f) can be adjusted (‘trimmed’) to fly at a wide range of speeds, where the
same aircraft is scored over the same course by subtracting its slowest
speed from its fastest speed (winner has greatest range), with such
conditions as: minimum flying distance required for each flight, ballast
limited (e.g. max. 50% of the aircraft weight as ballast to increase flying
speed), no other removable parts permitted, flaps may be used, etc.; or
(g) is aerobatic: could ‘loop the bar’ in a goal; etc. (see the plan on p. 39).
Revising key principles of flight for your gliders
1 An aircraft has weight (the result of gravity pulling on its mass), and in level
flight the lift force required to hold it up must equal its weight. In an
aircraft gliding downwards, the lift will be slightly less than its weight
(otherwise its glide path would be level), the difference depending on its
glide angle.
2 Lift is produced at right angles to the airflow across the wing, which in fast
level flight is nearly vertical to the aircraft and directly opposing the weight.
At low speeds, and at higher angles of attack to compensate for less lift at
low speed, the lift vector will have a rearward tilt which obviously gives a
rearward force (drag). This slows the aircraft, although still giving enough
lift. The tip vortex causes a downward deflection of air across the wing and
this too tilts the lift vector rearwards, giving a constant drag (induced
drag). A higher aspect ratio wing is more efficient because less of it is
affected by the tip vortex. Note:
• If the glide angle is α° then: lift = weight × cosine α°
• A flat-plate wing produces lift best at only a particular angle of attack
(because the separation point moves rearward), and may stall readily at
only a slight increase in the angle of attack. A curved-plate wing is more
efficient and has a wider range of angles of attack, although for a very
small model there may not be enough increase in performance to
justify the extra effort in making a cambered wing.
3 Aircraft gain most lift from the difference in pressure caused by making air
move at different speeds above and below the wing. This is done by camber,
either from the wing being curved upwards across its width or by a positive
21

The minimum requirements for
an aircraft are:
4 Aircraft need to be stable, so they can recover from disturbances to their
• wings for lift
• dihedral for lateral stability
• a tailplane (or equivalent) at a
negative angle to the wing to
provide ‘longitudinal dihedral’
for longitudinal stability
• a fin (or equivalent in a V tail)
for directional stability
• a CG just forward of the centre
of lift
angle of attack, or both, so the air moves faster over the upper surface and
slower over the lower surface, resulting in greater pressure on the lower
surface, giving a net upward force. As the wing shape is streamlined and
gives minimal air disturbance, the drag is low in comparison to the lift
produced. The lift can be increased by increasing the angle of attack (the
angle of the wing to the airflow), although drag will steadily increase;
however, after the stall angle the lift decreases rapidly and drag increases
still further.
More lift is gained by having a larger wing, a more effective wing, by flying
faster, and also by a greater angle of attack; we can ignore the effect of air
density for model aircraft. As the velocity component in Bernoulli’s equa-
tion is V 2, a small increase in velocity will have a large effect on lift.
flight, which for your model is largely caused by air movements. The
atmosphere is rarely still, with vertical and horizontal movements primarily
as a result of pressure differences caused by heating differences, and also
by changes in terrain. Full-size aircraft also need to be able to maintain
stable flight (i.e. to regain and maintain equilibrium).
Stable flight for a model glider is when it glides in a steady path, recovering
from disturbances which might pitch it up or down, or turn it from side to
side, or cause it to spiral uncontrollably. This can only be achieved by
balancing the various forces on the aircraft.

Designing your own model aircraft

Parts of an aircraft This section makes some suggestions as starting points when your
fin gives directional
stability students begin to design their own aircraft. They could apply the
broad guidelines below, as the acquisition and application of wind
tunnel data on these simple aircraft is beyond the scope of this book.
The size relationships suggested are merely starting points. This
tailplane balances lift
and weight forces section refers to conventional ‘tail last’ aircraft; notes about canards
(‘tail first’ aircraft) are on p. 42 (plan p. 41). Delta-winged aircraft
fuselage provides
volume for payload are not described beyond the plan on p. 39.
wings provide lift, and roll
stability (with dihedral)
What are the key criteria for your design?
All aircraft designs are a compromise between often conflicting requirements,
as it isn’t possible for one design to do everything.
Some choices to consider are:
• Performance: load carrying, or low wing loading (so it can fly slowly); want it
for aerobatics only, or to glide as far as possible; or to fly fast, or fly slow; etc.
• Appearance: scale appearance (looks like a full-size aircraft), or own design.
• Type: low wing, or high wing (high wing designs are usually easier to make
and fly); mid-wing designs are more difficult to construct.
• Strength: robust (bungee launch, any conditions); or prepared to fly it only
when and where it is less likely to be damaged (calm conditions, more
space, fewer obstructions).
• Building time: little time available (needs to be quick to build: small, simple,
few parts); or you have more time (can be larger, have more parts, perhaps
be powered).
• Size and materials: small (quick to build, need less space to fly); or larger
(flies better, takes longer to build, needs more space, more materials); pre-
fer to use only simple materials.

22 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight


A sail on a yacht or wind surfer is
really a thin cambered aerofoil, with
lift generated perpendicular to the
airflow, as with any wing
Elliptical leading and trailing edges
are more efficient, but are not
commonly seen on aircraft because
they are more expensive to make.
Note: Very small model aircraft may
not benefit from cambered wings
due to the ‘scale effect’ (as molecules
in the air and the properties of air
can’t be scaled down). The smaller an
aircraft is the more viscous the air
becomes for it, which can affect how
its wing works – it becomes less
effective at producing lift and more
effective at producing drag.
Cambered wings are shown as an
option on the small models, but flat-
plate wings would be satisfactory at
this size and are much easier to
make. However, on the larger, high-
aspect ratio model, camber also
makes the wing more rigid.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
How big do you want your model aircraft?
This is usually decided by the materials and time available, and level of skill. If
using the foam trays shown in the examples in this book, then the sizes of the
trays used will determine the size of the aircraft. Larger aircraft generally fly
better than smaller aircraft, but need more space. The plans enclosed are for
models of about 200–600mm wingspan, made from one or two foam trays.
◆ Start with the wing design
The wings determine the performance and the function of your aircraft:
whether it will fly fast or slow, its aerobatic ability, load carrying, etc. The
proportions of the other parts of the aircraft match the characteristics of the
wings. Elements to consider:
Aspect ratio = wing span
• Aspect ratio: The ratio of the wing
span to its average width. A low
aspect ratio wing (e.g. 4–6) has divided by the average
some advantages for a model: it is easier to chord (width)
make, it is robust with less chance of damage when it
lands awkwardly (there is less of a leverage effect on the fuselage); the dis-
advantage is that it may not be as efficient as a higher aspect ratio wing.
Although a higher aspect ratio wing (>7) is more efficient, it is harder to
make accurately, is more prone to warping, harder to make fly efficiently
(e.g. it needs a larger fin to overcome the greater leverage of a longer wing,
and has a smaller usable range of angles of attack), and is more easily dam-
aged. A higher aspect ratio wing is more efficient because it has ‘less wing
tip’ in relation to the rest of the wing, reducing the ‘tip effect’ from the tip
vortex and reducing the induced drag.
• Wing shape: Tapered wings offer little significant gain of efficiency in mod-
els of this size and flying speed – but they do look better! If you taper the
wing, the wing tip chord (width) shouldn’t be less than about 75% of the
wing root chord. Tips are shaped to improve performance; rounding the
leading edge and bevelling the trailing edge may also increase efficiency
(an opportunity for an investigation into these elements).
A swept-back wing (wing angled backwards) offers no advantages for mod-
els, although fun to make. Their advantage is apparent only at speeds near
or above the speed of sound. Avoid sweepback angles of more than 10–15°
as they are less efficient at model airspeeds and can be more difficult to
trim for stable flight.
• Camber (upward curved wing sec- A flat plate airfoil produces lift only within a
tion): A cambered wing produces limited angle of attack range, stalls easily,
produces more drag than a cambered airfoil
more lift for the same drag than
does a flat plate wing, except for
very small models, although most
plans provided for the small mod- Angle of attack
els have cambered wings as an A cambered flat plate produces more lift at a
option. A high-camber wing can shallower angle of attack, has less drag, but
create more drag, but can also fly will stall readily outside a narrow range of
slower for the same lift. Lift is pro- angles of attack
portional to the square of the
speed, so a wing with less camber Angle of attack
can produce more lift by flying
faster – with better performance in windy conditions.
• Dihedral (wingtips raised above the centre): It is essential to provide lateral
stability. How does dihedral work? When an aircraft is tilted over to one
side, its weight then acts to that side which causes it to sideslip. If the wing
has dihedral, the angle of attack of the lowered half of the wing then in-
creases, increasing its lift and so restoring the aircraft to a level position.
Low-wing aircraft (wing at the bottom of the fuselage) need more dihedral
than a high-wing aircraft because, in a sideslip, the fuselage tends to direct
air downwards on to the top surface of the lowered wing, reducing its effec-
tiveness. The CG is also higher so there is less ‘pendulum’ effect.
23
 • Construction: (see p. 26) the plan must ‘mirror image’ the wings to ensure
the same side of the plastic material is on the upper surface of each wing so
each wing will have the same shape and curve.
In summary:
Having determined the wing span (from the materials available), and re-
quired flying characteristics, match them with the wing design likely to best
Tailplane (20–35% of the Fin
wing area) set at a (40–60% provide that performance, for example:
negative angle of attack tailplane • Higher aspect ratio (≥7) for best glide performance, lower flight speed.
in relation to the wing area)
• Low to medium aspect ratio (3–6) for durability, higher speed, aerobatic per-
formance, bungee launch (e.g. delta wing if glide performance not critical).
Wings with • Camber: no or low camber for faster flight; use a high camber for slow flying.
dihedral • Position: a high-wing design is more stable, easy to fly; choose a low-wing
design for more realism.
Sufficient weight at
the nose to bring Fuselage (length • Stability: for lateral stability the wings need dihedral, with a low mounted
the CG forward of 60–90% of wing
the centre of lift wing needing more dihedral than a high mounted wing.
span, and strong
enough!) • Wing loading (see p. 13): high for faster flight, low for minimum rate of loss of
height. Wing strength is not a consideration with this material until the wings
Wing and tailplane angles (shown exceed 600mm wingspan, when a lack of rigidity may become a problem.
exaggerated), the tailplane providing a
downward force to counteract the
forward rotation of the wing.
CG forward of the centre of lift ◆ Next, consider the fuselage
This diagram shows the parts of a • Wing position: Decide whether it is to be a high-wing or low-wing aircraft
simple model aircraft and their rela- and specify the required flight characteristics.
tionships. Proportions are suggested • Rigging angles of wing and tailplane: The mounts of the wing and tailplane
as a starting point, assuming the wing on the fuselage determine the angles of the tailplane and wing, which af-
size is determined first.
fect stability. The wing and tailplane should differ by 3°–5° in their relative
angles of incidence to provide ‘longitudinal dihedral’ for stable flight.
• Length: If it is to be a high aspect ratio, high performance glider, have a
fuselage about 55–75% of wingspan, small tailplane and a long tail moment
arm (distance between wing and tail). An aerobatic aircraft would have a
low aspect ratio wing, a fuselage 70–90% of wing span, a short moment
arm, and a larger tailplane.
For any aircraft, avoid having a long nose to reduce nose-weight as the in-
creased side area forward of the CG would require a larger fin, and could
also reduce the leverage of the tailplane.
• Strength: The fuselage in full-size aircraft provides volume for its payload. In
a model it merely connects the flying surfaces, although it needs to be
strong as it may have to withstand severe ‘whiplash’ forces if one wing
strikes an object when landing.
A single layer of foam isn’t sufficiently
Designing a fuselage for a high-wing aircraft
strong. When joining pieces to make a
wing mount larger fuselage, ‘V’-angled glue joints
➊ set up wing and draw two lines with provide a greater length of glue joint,
tailplane angles: about 4°– 5° difference tailplane
making it stronger by distributing the
forces over a greater length of glue, so
➋ add a fin the stress on any part of the joint is
draw a nose section, tail section (length depends
on the wing span and purpose of aircraft) reduced. In this instance, make a tem-
plate to ensure the correct location of
fuselage pieces during construction.
Joints on opposite sides should not
tailplane mounted on coincide. The upper tray surface must
these areas have most stress and bottom of fuselage face outwards on the fuselage parts.
most likely to break, must be strong
A fuselage for larger aircraft (>400mm
➌ wingspan) would need three layers for
sufficient strength; include the fin in
the centre layer. Three layers allows
the fuselage centre V-angled glue joint
to give more strength, raise the wing to make the fuselage to be overlapped to increase the
thicker, while still keeping the same wing/tailplane angles strength.

24 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

Designing a fuselage for a low-wing aircraft See the diagrams for steps in drawing
fuselage outlines. Having straight lines
➊ begin setting up wing draw two lines makes parts easier to cut out. Don’t
and tailplane angles:
make the areas behind the wing or in
front of the tailplane too small: forces
tailplane
➋ are highest here on landing and so
draw a wing mount area at 4°– 5° they are weak points of the fuselage.
angle to top of fuselage
wing mount
◆ The tailplane
➌
draw a nose section, and shape the • Area: Start with the tailplane at least
wing mount section to match
camber, if required 20% of the area of the wing. The tail-
plane and fuselage act as a lever, the
(Note: camber optional on small aircraft) add fin, greater the distance between the wing
draw a tail and tailplane (moment arm), the
section
➍ longer the lever and the greater the
effect – so the tailplane could be
smaller (≤20% of wing area).
tailplane mounted
on top of fuselage If the distance between the wing and
if you add a ‘canopy,’ place it behind the wing; tailplane (moment arm) is short then
if over or forward of the wing a larger fin would an extension to the fin the tailplane needs to be larger, perhaps
be needed to ‘balance’ its forward area adds strength to this
part of the fuselage as high as 30–35% of the wing area. You
could start with a larger tailplane and
reduce its size during flight tests.
A long fuselage and moment arm helps stability, but is more prone to dam-
age; a short fuselage is better for aerobatics but needs a larger tailplane.
turning moment
The same rules of efficiency apply to the tailplane, a high aspect ratio being
CG more efficient than a low aspect ratio, although as it is small its strength has
to be considered, especially to withstand landing stresses.
= distance (moment arm)
x force (from tailplane) • Rigging angles: The tailplane needs to be angled at least 3°–4° downwards in
relation to the wing. The wing angle is measured by the (chord) line con-
necting the leading and trailing edges. The minimum difference will give
tailplane lower drag (from a lower angle of attack) to fly faster as far as possible, but
probably at the cost of less stability, especially in turbulent air. Too great a
difference (>8°) will increase drag by increasing the angle of attack. If a
a shorter moment arm tailplane needs a large angle it may be too small. A tailplane mounted
requires a larger tailplane
above the line of the wing may need a greater downward angle (e.g. 4°–6°)
as it is out of the wing downwash effect. Elevators allow control of the angle
of attack and flying speed.
• Position: A tailplane mounted on the top of the fin is efficient but is difficult
to make strong enough and is consequently very prone to damage on land-
ing. A high mounted wing and low mounted tailplane design is inherently
stable and is easy to fly.
• Other shapes: A ‘V’ tail combines the tailplane and fin functions in its two
surfaces. Total area needs to be about what a conventional tailplane and fin
would be. The angle between the ‘V’ needs to be 110°–120°.

Note: For model aircraft the
rudder is sufficient for turns.
However, full-size aircraft use
ailerons to turn by rolling the
aircraft to one side so that the
lift vector now lifts the aircraft
towards that side (i.e. turning
it). Note that additional lift
must be generated to turn the
aircraft (as well as support its
weight) otherwise it will lose
height. The rudder is used to
keep the aircraft in line with
the turn.
◆ The fin
• Construction: On larger models where there are three layers for the fuse-
lage, the fin could be constructed as part of the centre layer. Otherwise, it
can be made and attached separately.
• Size: The effectiveness of the fin is affected by the moment arm (distance
between wing and fin) and aspect ratio: a short moment arm and/or
higher aspect ratio wings need a larger fin. If you increase the side area
forward of the centre of gravity (e.g. by adding floats for landing on water,
or a located forward cabin) a larger fin is required to balance this addi-
tional area, otherwise it risks losing yaw stability. A fin 40–60% of tailplane
area would be a starting point.
Note that the fin and tailplane are really small wings, so a higher aspect
ratio means they could be more efficient.

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 25

 Summary
• Wing shape and camber suits
purpose and performance.
• Wing dihedral appropriate to
high or low-wing version.
• Fuselage length to suit purpose
of aircraft.
• Tailplane has 3–4° less angle of
incidence than the wing to bal-
ance rotating moment of wing
(‘longitudinal dihedral’); area
related to tail moment arm.
• Fin with sufficient area to pro-
vide directional stability.
• Centre of gravity slightly for-
ward of centre of lift.
Wings
Make one wing-half pattern, label one
side “right wing-half” and other side “left
wing-half”. Cut out one wing-half in
foam, then turn the wing pattern over
to cut the other half to ensure that each
wing-half is identical, and that the top
side of the plastic tray material is the top
of each wing-half surface.
cut right wing, turn over to cut left wing
wing-half pattern
left wing-half right wing-half
26
◆ Centre of gravity (CG)
The final step: balancing the aircraft so that the CG is slightly forward of the
centre of lift. The centre of lift forces is a property of the wing and its ‘usual’
angle of attack and flight speed, which are also affected by the rigging angles
of the wing and tailplane. As you will not know the position of the centre of
lift forces there is an element of trial and error in locating the best position of
the CG (slightly forward of the centre of lift). Add sufficient weight to the nose
so that the CG is about 25–35% of the wing chord from the wing leading edge.
This is a good starting point for the first few flights; you can add or remove
weight according to the results of your flight tests (see pages 19, 31, 32). Be
sure to fly it on a calm day while adjusting it so that you can accurately assess
the flight characteristics.
Bungee launching
This is an alternative to throwing the aircraft. Ensure the bungee is well
secured and that aircraft are never launched towards people or buildings.
Start with a piece of string about 4–5 m long with a single strand of rubber
bands about 1.6mm square in section joined together to make about a 1m
length of rubber. Increase the string or rubber band length as required. It is
best to have a long length of bungee, rather than one which is very strong, to
provide a continuous
~1 m thin rubber
acceleration rate bands joined
within the strength together ~4–5 m string
limits of the aircraft.
Launch it with a
turn so it climbs in
a spiral. stake secure in ground, or
other secure attachment
Making your aircraft
If you use the designs provided, the instructions are included with each of the
plans. General instructions applicable to all models are on the next page.
When completed and checked for alignment, the centre of gravity should be
at the position on the plans before beginning flight tests. If the ‘paper air-
craft’ exercise hasn’t been completed it would be worth using it at this stage.
About the foam material
The foam plastic trays have a thin ‘skin’ on the upper surface. This skin allows
bending away from it, enabling the wing to be easily cambered provided the
‘skin’ is on the upper surface. The ‘skin’ gives considerable additional strength
which is best utilised by having it on the outer surface when the material is
laminated, as when making the fuselage.
The foam material bends readily in one direction but will crack if bent in the
other; it tends to warp away from the upper surface. Always have the upper
surface of the tray as the upper surfaces of the wings and tailplane, and as the
outer surfaces of the fuselage. The upper tray surface is reasonably easy to
recognise, as it looks smoother and is less shiny and doesn’t sparkle as much
as the lower surface.
The foam also allows hinges to be made for control surfaces (rudder, eleva-
tors, ailerons). Score the hinge lines by pressing a fingernail (or the rounded
edge of an ice-block stick) along a hinge line. Bend it first towards the
lower surface of the material, then in both directions to establish the
hinge before gluing the fin or tailplane in place. The material is able to
hold a control surface at a sufficient angle for it to be effective.
In case you think foam plastic is useful only for models, some full-size
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

The tools and materials required
for any aircraft in this booklet:
Tools
• Cutting board and ruler
• Trimming knife (or scissors for
the smaller aircraft)
• Hot-glue gun and suitable glue
Materials
• Foam plastic trays (21 x 26cm)
• Plasticine (and/or other materi-
als) to balance CG
• Photocopies of the pages with
outlines (if not designing own
aircraft)
✘ ✔
Hold the knife at a low angle
Avoid inhaling dust from sanding
the wing and fuselage edges. Use
wet sandpaper to reduce airborne
dust, or instead press the edges to
round them (diagram, p. 37), or use
a trimming knife (especially on the
edges of the larger aircraft fuselage).
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
aircraft parts are made with plastic foam cores covered with fibreglass or
carbon fibre material for strength.
Fine sandpaper (e.g. 150 grit) could be used to round the leading edges of
the wing, tailplane and fin, and a trimming knife to bevel the wing trailing
edges (optional) and the fuselage edges. Note the instructions on the plans.
Gluing
Hot-glue is used because most schools have hot-glue guns, and also because it
is cheap, easy to use and effective.
• Run the glue on all surfaces to be joined and then hold them together.
• Ensure that all parts are glued without twisting, an aircraft must be sym-
metrical about its centre so that it will fly well. Look at it from the front or
rear to check that everything is aligned equally on each side.
• Hot glue remains liquid for a few minutes as the foam material is a good
insulator, which has the disadvantage that parts have to be held until the
glue sets, but the advantage is reasonable working time while adjusting the
fit and alignment of parts.
• If the glue has cooled too much then more hot glue must be added, it can’t
be re-softened without melting the foam plastic material.
• Skin can be blistered by hot glue, especially from runoff when too much is
used, so always have cold water ready. Glue can be pulled off the skin while
still soft. Remove unwanted glue from furniture by careful scraping and
then with a tissue dampened with methylated spirits. Have glue guns in a
stand and keep a piece of paper under the nozzle to collect drips.
• When repairing a broken fuselage it is best to glue a piece of foam over the
break rather than merely re-glue the break line.
General instructions for constructing all models
When making your own model designs, plan them on paper first to ensure that
relative sizes are suitable and that rigging angles will be correct. The plan can
then be taped to the plastic foam and used to cut out the parts.
1 Cut the edge off the foam tray/s. Cut the plan to fit a tray and tape it to
the upper surface of the foam tray with small pieces of sticky tape around
the edges (or use a glue dispenser). Avoid taping or gluing over areas
which will be part of the aircraft.
2 Crease all control surface ‘hinges’ by running a fingernail (or sharpened
ice-block stick) along a ruler over the marks on the plan. They will need
to be re-creased later but this will mark their positions. If it has a one-
piece wing, crease the centre line to later bend it upwards for dihedral.
3 Cut out all the parts, cutting through the plan taped on the upper
surface of the tray material. Work from one side of the tray – don’t cut
out parts in the middle first. Cut sharp curves and end sections first, then
cut the straight parts (e.g. wing edges) using a ruler to guide the cut.
Hold the trimming knife at a low angle to avoid tearing the paper.
4 Round the edges of the wings and tail-surfaces, either by running a
fingernail along them to flatten the edges, or with fine sandpaper. Always
keep the upper tray side as the upper side of the wing and tail surfaces.
Fuselage parts are best rounded after gluing them together (step 9).
Decoration is most easily applied (e.g. using felt pens) before assembly.
5 Crease the control ‘hinges’ again, this time on both sides of each of the
surfaces. Bend the control surfaces gently to make the ‘hinge’.
6a If the wing is in one piece (small and delta wing models), bend it gently
upwards at the centre to give dihedral. Run a thin line of glue along the
crease and hold it until the glue has set – this will hold the dihedral
angle – which for a small high-wing model is about 10–12 mm at one tip.
27

Camber the wing over a round-edged
surface, moving your hand back and
forward to bend it smoothly in small
steps. Move the wing across the edge
each time you rub your hand across it.
bevel the
trailing
edge
wing
trimming
knife, using
the
table
table edge as a
guide
Bevel the trailing edge after cambering
the wing and gluing ribs to it, but before
gluing the wing sections together
The cambered and bevelled wing section
Techniques described in this section
help achieve some elements of
technological practice: e.g. product
performance, efficient production,
ensuring consistency in production,
safe practices, using the cheapest
and simplest techniques, accuracy
of construction so that aircraft
made from the same plans have the
same performance, etc.
28
6b If the wing is in two pieces and will be flat (i.e. not cambered), join the
two halves together and hold them until the glue has set, ensuring that
the two edges are perfectly aligned to each other.
6c If the wing is in two pieces and is to be cambered, place each wing half at
a time (upper tray side upwards) on a curved edge of a table or other
curved object and gently rub the heel of your hand along it to bend it to
provide camber, starting at one edge. Do this all over each wing, adding
more curve each time by moving the wing over the curved table edge.
Repeat with the other wing half and try to have them with matching cam-
ber. The wings must be cambered before gluing the ribs in place, otherwise
they won’t maintain the camber.
Glue the wing ribs in place to shape the camber precisely. If you want to
bevel the trailing edge then do it at this point (place each wing-half at
the edge of a table and use the table edge to guide a trimming knife to
bevel the wing edge—carefully).
If necessary, shape the wing root to make a close-fitting join – check the fit.
Join the two halves of the wing together with the recommended dihedral,
checking that the alignment of each wing is identical. The wing must not
be twisted except for some ‘washout’ (see p. 13).
7 Bend and/or glue the tail surfaces together if required (some plans may
suggest assembling the tailplane and fin as a substructure first).
8a Glue the fuselage halves or parts together, upper tray surface outwards.
Where there are only two fuselage parts, run a thin line of glue on the
surface* near the outer edge around the whole part and press the sides
together. Press them down on a flat surface while the glue sets to ensure
they are straight. (*Ensure that the lower tray surface is inwards, i.e. that
the lower tray surfaces are glued together.)
8b The fuselages of the largest models have several parts in three layers,
with the parts joined with a ‘V’ joint for greater strength (as forces are
spread along a greater length of joint). First, run the glue along the
edges of the ‘V’ of one of the centre parts, press them together and then
hold them on to the alignment template* provided to ensure that the
wing and tailplane mounting areas are at the correct angles. Hold flat in
position until the glue sets. (*protect the template with waxed paper over the joint)
Glue the pieces for one side in place, checking on the alignment tem-
plate again and holding the fuselage flat on the template until the glue
sets. Note that the side pieces overlap the centre join. Add internal
weight if required (the largest models have provision for five nails to be
glued inside to reduce the amount of Plasticine needed).
Glue the remaining parts together, ensuring that the tray upper surface
is outwards, and holding the fuselage flat on the alignment template
while the glue sets to ensure that the fuselage will be straight and with
wing and tail mounting areas having the correct alignment.
9 Round the edges of the fuselage, either by pressing the edges with your
fingernail to flatten them, or with a trimming knife and sandpaper.
10 Glue the wing and tail-parts to the fuselage, checking that each is prop-
erly aligned to the fuselage (i.e. the angle between wing/tailplane and
fuselage is the same on each side and that the centre line of each is
aligned with the fuselage).
Check again that all flying surfaces (wings, tail, fin) are not warped and
are the same on each side (e.g. one wing isn’t twisted); bend carefully
and gently to reshape if needed. If some parts are too badly twisted they
may need to be removed and new parts made.
11 Add Plasticine (or any heavy modelling clay) to the nose until the centre
of gravity is about where it is indicated on the plan; individual models
will vary slightly. See the next page for more details.
12 Read the instructions (pages 30, 31) on test-flying, then start your flight
tests, altering the control surfaces and removing/adding weight until the
aircraft flies well (i.e. doesn’t dive, climb/stall, and can recover from its
flight being disturbed).
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

A scale model of a full-size aircraft
is usually built to a linear scale
(ratio of model length or wingspan
to that of the full-size), but other
dimensions may be more relevant
indicators of scale. However, mak-
ing a model of scale weight, wing
area, and/or wing loading would
be difficult, particularly if a scale
flying speed was also required. Fly-
ing speed is related to wing
loading and generating sufficient
lift to stay airborne at the ‘scale
speed’ – which the eye may per-
ceive as related to body-lengths
per second. Linear scale has the
advantage of simplicity! Add the
‘scale effect’ of air behaving with
increasing viscosity as the model
become smaller and it seems best
in practice to regard model aircraft
as not merely scaled-down full-size
aircraft, but as another branch of
flight and flying machines.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Balancing the forces: weight and lift
When your aircraft is complete, it must be balanced before flying (remember
the lessons from the paper aircraft investigations) by adding weight to the
nose until the centre of gravity is at the position shown on the plans.
Movements of the aircraft are about the centre of gravity. Forces acting on the
wing and tailplane and weight forces need to be in equilibrium. The negative
angle of the tailplane is to balance the normal nose-down rotating force on
the wing.
The centre of gravity is the centre of the weight force (from gravity on its
mass) and needs to be slightly forward of the centre of lift (the centre of the
upward forces resulting from pressure differences of air flowing over the
wings) otherwise a turning moment results (the nose will rise or fall). If the
centre of gravity is rearward of the centre of lift then the resulting nose-up
rotation may be impossible to control; likewise if the centre of gravity is too
far forward of the centre of lift the nose-down rotation may also be impossible
to control; in either case it may not be possible to make it fly, or if controlla-
ble, it will fly inefficiently.
• Check the centre of gravity (CG) position, adding weight to the nose until
the balance point is at the position shown on the plans. Your flight testing
may show that more weight needs to be added or some removed, but the
position shown on the plan should be the starting point. For your
students’ own designs a good starting point is having the CG at
about 25–35% of the wing width from the leading edge.
Suggestion: make a simple balance stand from scrap foam
for your class to use; fingers are too blunt for accurate
balancing.
• During your flight testing you may find that more weight needs to be added
to the nose until the centre of gravity is sufficiently far forward to give a
reasonably fast flight speed; if it is too far forward the aircraft will fly fast at
a steep downward angle and will not ‘pull out’ of that shallow dive. If the
CG is too far back it will repeatedly go nose-up, stall, and fall. If the CG is
only slightly too far back it usually results in slow flight which leads to a
wingtip stall (especially in high aspect ratio models with minimal dihedral),
causing one wing to drop and the aircraft to spin and dive.
• Control the angle of attack with the elevators, making small changes at a
time. This will control the speed by changing the lift and drag. Bending the
elevators upwards will make it fly at a higher angle of attack, increasing
both lift and drag, so it can fly more slowly. Bending the elevators down-
wards (so the tailplane has more lift and will raise the tail) will decrease the
angle of attack, decreasing the lift and drag, so it can fly faster, useful when
flying in a wind where greater speed may be needed. However, note that
too much downward elevator angle will result in it diving out of control.
With the largest models (p. 45–49) ‘trimmed’ for best glide, the low aspect
ratio variant can achieve a stable shallow glide with a L/D ratio of about 1:10
(i.e. its flight distance is 10 times its loss of height); the high aspect ratio
variant can achieve about a 1:12 ratio (a 20% improvement).
The small V-tail model (p. 37, 38) also has a good performance, although not
as good as the larger models because of the scale effect (molecules in the air
and the properties of air can’t be scaled down, so small models experience air
which appears more viscous, reducing lift and increasing drag). It is ideal as
an introductory model as it is much easier to make, robust (being smaller)
and stable. If you wish to try bungee launches the smaller model is ideal, al-
though it is best to adjust it first for a wide turn so it climbs in a turn and doesn’t
stall at the top of the climb – and you don’t have to chase it as far. A higher
aspect ratio wing for this model is also included on the plan. If you wish to
encourage your students to design their own cambered wings, suggest they
not have too much camber, 8–10% of the wing chord is sufficient. The in-
crease in drag with higher camber and the resulting slower flying speed makes
it more difficult for them to fly in anything other than still air, although useful
for indoor slow flight challenges.
29
 Flying your aircraft
• Again, look at your aircraft from the front and check that the wings and tail-
plane are not twisted and that the fin is in line with the fuselage. If not, try to
gently twist them into line, or if too far out of line, cut them off and make new
ones. This is emphasised again because misalignment is the major cause of
flight problems, assuming it is correctly balanced.

Look at the aircraft front-on

The plastic develops a curve

(one reason for having the same Check that the wing is not
plastic surface upwards on both twisted, that everything
wing-halves) looks the same on left and
If it spirals into the ground the right sides
wings or tail may be twisted If some parts are not aligned, you can gently
twist them to bring them into alignment

• Now, find an area clear of obstacles, away from people (never throw it to-
wards people), at least 15m long, and with little or no wind (the school’s
assembly hall is a good place). Gently launch the aircraft slightly down-
See p. 52 for a diagram of wind wards at its flying speed and attitude, letting it float out of your hand.
flow around obstructions, and
p. 53 for illustrations of airspeed
• Always regard launching your aircraft as similar to a full-size aircraft taking
in relation to ground-speed. off. It needs the same care, and should be at the aircraft’s flying speed and
angle when you let go of it. Poor launching techniques will cause even the
best aircraft to fail to fly, just as a full-size aircraft would crash if the pilot
didn’t follow correct takeoff procedures. Emphasise with your students that
it is launched, it is not thrown! High-wing designs have been provided partly
because they are easier for beginners to hold for launching.

Hold the aircraft under the wing near the

Aimed too low when launched centre of gravity. Launch the aircraft in a
straight line along its normal flight path
(about 5° downwards) at flying speed
(straighten your arm while imagining
launching it along a track)

Aimed too high when launched

If you think it was launched correctly, but your aircraft…

• Noses into the ground: First, launch it again and check that it was not
launched too slowly or aimed downwards too much – try a slightly harder
launch and perhaps more level. If it still noses into the ground, check the
position of the centre of gravity (CG). If it is forward of the 25% of wing-
width position then remove some weight to shift the centre of gravity
rearwards. If it still noses into the ground, bend the elevators upwards. If
this has only little effect, check the angles of the wing and tailplane with a
ruler or alignment template. If there is less than 4° difference then cut the
tailplane off and re-glue it at a greater angle to the wing (don’t go above
about 8°). If launching it outdoors check that you are not launching it with
the wind (launch it into the wind).

Note: when you use the rudder

and elevators be careful to make
very small adjustments at a time.

30 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

 • Noses up, then stalls and falls: The opposite of that above. First, try launching
it again, but more slowly and perhaps more downwards. Check the CG posi-
tion. More weight on the nose may be needed to shift the centre of gravity
forwards. Bend the elevators downwards. The tailplane angle in relation to
the wing may be too great (check with a ruler); if so, cut off and re-glue the
tailplane at a better angle. If launching outdoors, check that it isn’t being
launched too hard into a wind, or is not meeting wind after launch.

• Flies with an up-and-down path: Launch at a slower speed or add more

weight to the nose, it’s almost there! If it rises before flying on a diminish-
ing up and down path while returning to its normal flying position, it was
Another reminder! Make only
launched too hard. Reduce the angle of attack (bend the elevators down).
small adjustments of elevators
and rudder at any time.
Hint: If the wing is slightly twisted,
adding ailerons may be easier
than trying to rebuild the wing,
although it will be less efficient.

• Turns and/or spins into the ground: First, check that the wings, tailplane or fin
are not twisted. If it flies slowly and one wing suddenly drops, that wingtip
has stalled first. Add more weight to move the CG forwards so it flies faster,
and check that both wings have the same ‘washout’ to reduce wingtip stall.
Other causes can be insufficient dihedral and not launching it straight.

• Yaws from side to side and also tilts from left to right: Usually indicates too small
a fin together with too much dihedral.
• It’s moved about and may go out of control, although it seems to fly well sometimes:
Check that gusts of wind are not eddying about; if you are flying near trees
or buildings and even a gentle wind is blowing, then gusts and eddies can
have quite an effect on your aircraft, even though you may be unable to feel
the wind. As the model has a relatively slow flight speed it doesn’t take
much wind to make it difficult to launch (remember, it’s the airspeed which
is important). Move the CG forward; also try flying it a lower angle of attack.

❖ The ideal flight is a straight shallow glide. Congratulations!

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 31

 A bungee or catapult can launch
aircraft consistently to a good
height for competition. Make it from
several thin rubber bands cut to
make one strand and joined to-
gether and tied to a few metres of
string attached to a stake securely
anchored in the ground (see p. 53).
Attach a hook, made from a paper
clip as shown, to the fuselage so a
loop on the bungee will fit on it. A
small piece of light cloth tied to the
bungee below the loop helps the
bungee to fall off the aircraft after
launch. The attachment point
should be forward of the centre of
gravity, the more forward it is the
more the aircraft has to be pointed
upwards for launch. Length of rub-
ber bands is more important than
strength! The simple low aspect ra-
tio ‘V-tail’ model is ideal for bungee
launches.
Launching hook:
Push into bottom of fuselage,
glue or tape in place
• High powered launches can be
done outdoors, where the
aircraft is launched very fast Due to gravity and drag, speed reduces during
the spiral climb to reach normal gliding speed
in a near vertical curving and angle at the top of the climb (hopefully!)
path. The intention is to
judge the launching power
and angle so that the air- Use this
craft straightens out of its method
outside!
turn at the right speed and
angle to fly straight at its
normal gliding speed and
attitude. It is difficult to manage!
Adding more controls
Make ailerons by cutting slits at the inboard end (to allow movement) and
then creasing the plastic foam material as you did for the rudder and elevator.
Note that a constant turn requires some up elevator. If you do use ailerons
then bend up only the aileron on the wing you want to move downwards,
bending the opposite aileron downwards may have the reverse effect from
what you intended because of the higher drag that results (yes, that can
happen on full size aircraft too). Using only the rudder for a turn is usually
sufficient. In a turn the lift generated must change the path of the aircraft as
well as support its weight, and a moderate turn can require twice the lift.

Measuring flight performance

Several performance specifications can be measured.
rubber band
Ground and air speed: For a flight, measure the distance flown (metres), and
(hook shown the time taken (seconds). Repeat, and average the distances and times. If a
actual size, Start with hook wind is blowing repeat in different directions. Calculate the average ground
made from a about midway
paper clip, cut between wing speed (msec -1). The airspeed can be regarded as the same, and although the
to length) leading edge actual flight path is slightly longer as it flies downwards, the level of accuracy
and CG of measurements mean they can be regarded as identical. However, it is a
good opportunity to introduce calculations on the effects of head-winds on
aircraft travel times, and to consider the extra fuel they would need to carry to
allow for this and other contingencies.
Lift : drag (L/D) ratio
Measure the ground distance flown and the loss of height from its launch
point to its landing (metres). Repeat several times; if a wind is blowing repeat
in different directions. Average and calculate the
loss of average L/D ratio (divide the average distance
altitude flown by the average loss of height). It is usually
horizontal distance flown expressed as one figure (e.g. L/D = 10).
At the best glide the drag is at a minimum (see the graph on page 14) Calculate the glide angle also.
and your glider will therefore be flying at its velocity for lowest drag.
Lift is constant and equals the weight. The ratio of the forward velocity
to vertical velocity (rate of descent) is the same as the ratio of the
weight (=lift) to the drag, and is the same as the ratio of the horizontal
distance to altitude lost (see page 33).
glide distance
L/D =
loss of altitude Wing loading
Measure the wing area (sq. cm) and weigh the aircraft (g). Calculate the wing
loading in g cm -2 and then convert to Nm -2 (1 newton ≈ 100g). A loaded
Boeing 747 has a wing loading of about 7000Nm -2, so what does it do to stay
airborne? (flies fast) As lift must equal weight, the wing loading tells you the
average lift force per unit area produced by the wing. Remember that most of
this lift force (newtons, N) is a result of the difference in pressures between the
lower and upper surfaces of the wing.
Extension: If an aircraft flies faster it can generate more lift (throw your model
faster and it climbs as the increased lift then exceeds weight). If it is made to

32 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight


You may like to consider a
standard launching device,
such as a falling weight on
one end of a cord running
over a pulley and hooked to
the aircraft at the other, to
accelerate the aircraft along a
track and launch it into still air.
For reasonable accuracy sev-
eral measurements should be
recorded and averaged.
carry more weight then the speed needs to increase to increase lift if it is to
fly. Clip a small bulldog clip (or add Plasticine) to your glider fuselage at the
centre of gravity (why there?). Measure the distance it flies, its loss of height
and its speed; you may need to launch it a little faster. You may find little
change in the distance and loss of height but it will have flown faster, so it is
really losing height more quickly and therefore using up gravitational energy
faster to power its faster flight to produce more lift for a greater load.
Wing surface condition
Spray some water droplets on the upper surface of the wing, trying to make
large drops. Weigh the aircraft to see how much extra weight was added.
Measure its flight performance (L/D ratio). Dry and clean the wing, add the
same amount of weight (at the CG position) and measure its flight perform-
ance again. Compare the performance of the aircraft with the same weight
but where one has large water drops on the wing. There have been several
crashes on takeoff of full-size aircraft due to snow or ice on the upper surface
of the wing reducing the lift.
Compare flat-plate and cambered wing versions
Flat-plate wings on very small model aircraft can be as efficient as cambered
wings. It would be useful to compare the performance of two aircraft identical
except for one having a flat plate wing, the other having a cambered wing.
Compare wings with ‘curved camber’ and ‘filled camber’ aerofoils
The larger plan given uses a curved plate wing to provide camber. A ‘filled’
aerofoil (i.e. the bottom is covered rather than open) is more efficient on
larger aircraft. Some students may like to try filling the underneath of the
wing to see whether it does in fact improve performance. Thin cling-film (e.g.
GladWrap®) could be stretched across the lower surface of the wing so little
extra weight is added. Alternatively, use the plastic heat-shrink film made for
model aircraft. Adding it to only one wing-half would enable a quick compari-
son of increased lift or drag by the direction the aircraft turned: increased lift
on one wing would raise that wing so it would turn away from that side;
increased drag on one wing would turn the aircraft towards that side.
Measure the power used
The diagram below summarises how to measure the power used (in watts).
You need to weigh the aircraft (N), fly it, and measure the loss of height
(difference between its launch and landing altitudes, m), the time it was in
flight (s), then calculate its rate of loss of height (ms -1), and multiply by its
weight (N).
lift aerodynamic
lift is produced perpendicular to
α° force
the airflow over the wing and the
total aerodynamic force from lift
and drag must always be equal
and opposite to the weight

height distance flown α° thrust drag

loss
glide path
the angle of the glide path is the same as
the angle between the aerodynamic force
and lift and so the ratio of lift to drag is the
same as the ratio of distance flown to
height lost
in steady flight: drag = thrust
weight is always vertically
α° downwards, the displacement
forwards by the glide angle
weight provides the thrust force
thrust

All force triangles have the

same proportions, so Measure the vertical fall (metres) of your
drag weight glider in several flights, measure how long
= (seconds) it takes in each flight, average
rate of descent velocity
each set of measurements.
drag x velocity = rate of descent x weight Calculate its average rate of fall (metres
per second).
Power = force x speed Weigh your glider in newtons (1N ≈ 100g).
= rate of descent x weight Calculate the power it used (watts).

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 33

 Make some predictions
Record the performance measurements (air speed, L/D ratio, wing loading)
for each aircraft in the class. Now predict which aircraft would perform best
for each of the ‘flight challenges’ on page 21.
Now try them out…

Extensions
• Airspeed and groundspeed are often different. Aircraft fly only in relation
to the air they are in. Air masses can move in different directions and at
different speeds (vertically or horizontally), ‘shearing’ over each other. This
‘wind shear’ will affect an aircraft as it flies into an air mass moving at a
different speed or direction to the air it is in. As passengers we may feel it as
a ‘bump’ or ‘air pocket’. The aircraft will have extra loads (gust loads) im-
posed on it as it flies into air moving at different directions and speeds, and
its speed is limited in such conditions to avoid airframe stress or failure.
Turbulent air can have many causes: e.g. hot air rising (‘thermals’), air
rising over hills, turbulence at the boundary between air moving in differ-
ent directions, and standing waves over mountains. The result is often a
bumpy flight! Gliders can utilise the upward air movements to gain height.
Use the model aircraft in light winds to show the effects on landing speed
(ground speed) of launching with the wind, into the wind and cross wind
(where the upwind wing will rise as it is effectively in a sideslip situation).
Ask a pilot to explain how they would land an aircraft in a side-wind situation.
Further details on the effects of wind are on pages 52 and 53.
• Investigate jet streams, and how they are used or avoided by aircraft de-
pending on their direction and nature.
• Video the flight of an aircraft from one side in the assembly hall (where it
is calm) and use freeze-frame to determine the angle of descent. When
trying to make a low drag aircraft (for the distance challenge) it is best if
the fuselage is in line with the angle of descent, so video its flight from one
side to check – although as the wing causes most drag it is probably of little
concern. Video it also from the rear and check that it is not flying slightly
sideways, which would expose some of one side of the fuselage and increase
the area exposed to the airflow, increasing drag – and indicating that the
model needs its alignment and trimming checked.
• Visit aircraft workshops to see the exact nature of the technological prac-
tice for the maintenance of aircraft. Why is there so much documentation
about any work on an aircraft?
• Visit an airport and have various staff explain elements of its operation: e.g.
- How do pilots find the airport and runway in cloudy weather and at
night? What minimum visibility is required?
- How do pilots see the runway at night? Why are there lights on poles at
the ends of the runways?
- What do air traffic controllers do? Why are they not always at an airport?
- What limitations are placed on the airport? (e.g. a small airport may
have too short a runway for larger aircraft, or they may be able to land
at the end of journey but not take off with a full fuel load)
- Why do we have border controls for pests and diseases? Which pests and
diseases especially?
- How do airlines take bookings for flights from all over the country, and
from overseas?
- Are there any special things (e.g. lower air pressures) which need to be
taken into account when planning meals and refreshments for passen-
gers? (Can you have a really hot cup of coffee if the cabin pressure is
the equivalent of 2500 m altitude? Do foods dry out quickly?)
- What are the safety precautions that cabin crew are trained to deal with?
- What safety equipment must an airport have? (e.g. fire engines).

34 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

 Bibliography
Flight
Barnard, R. H. & Philpott, D. R. AIRCRAFT FLIGHT: A DESCRIPTION OF THE
PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES OF AIRCRAFT FLIGHT. (2nd edition, 1996). Addison-
Wesley Publishing Co. ISBN 0-582-236-568
Campbell, R.D. and J. Jones. THE MICROLIGHT FLYING MANUAL. (3rd edition,
1990) Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-189-3
Kermode, A. C. MECHANICS OF FLIGHT. (10th edition, 1996) Longman Group
UK Ltd. ISBN 0-582-23740-8
Reithmaier, Larry. MACH 1 AND BEYOND. THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO HIGH-
SPEED FLIGHT. Tab Books, 1995. ISBN 0-07-052021-6
Simons, Martin. MODEL AIRCRAFT AERODYNAMICS. (3rd edition, 1994) Nexus
Special Interests. ISBN 1-85486-121-2
Smith, H. C. ‘Skip’. THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO AERODYNAMICS. (2nd edition,
1992) Tab Books, 1992. ISBN 0830639012
Tennekes, Henk. THE SIMPLE SCIENCE OF FLIGHT: FROM INSECTS TO JUMBO JETS.
The MIT Press, 1996. ISBN 0-262-20105-4

Designing full-size aircraft

Rayner, Daniel. AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH. (3rd edition,
1999) American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics. ISBN 1563472813

General
Boyne, Walter J. THE LEADING EDGE. Macdonald & Co., London. 1987
ISBN 0-386-14328-7
Moolman, Valerie. THE ROAD TO KITTY HAWK. (Series: The Epic of Flight)
Time-Life Books Inc. 1981. ISBN 0-8094-3260-9
Orlebar, Christopher. THE CONCORDE STORY. Hamlyn, 1994. ISBN 0-600-
58515-8
Taylor, Michael H, & David Mondey. MILESTONES OF FLIGHT. Jane’s Publishing
Company Lt, 1983.
Thurston, David. DESIGN FOR FLYING. (2nd edition. 1995) TAB Books,
ISBN 0-07-064559-0
Wright, Orville. HOW WE INVENTED THE AIRPLANE. AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY.
Dover, 1988.
Walker, Peter M. B. (Editor). DICTIONARY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.
Larouse, 1995. ISBN 0-7523-0010-5 (hb), 0-7523-0011-3

Weather
Crowder, R. B. THE WONDERS OF THE WEATHER. Australian Government
Printing Service Press, 1995. ISBN 0-644-35020-2

Navigation
Hulbert, John. ALL ABOUT NAVIGATION AND ROUTE FINDING. W. H. Allen, 1973.
ISBN 0-491-01390-6
Williams, J.E.D. FROM SAILS TO SATELLITES: THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF
NAVIGATIONAL SCIENCE. Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0-19-856387-6

Human performance
Campbell, R.D. and M. Bagshaw. HUMAN PERFORMANCE AND LIMITATIONS IN
AVIATION. Blackwell Science Ltd, 1991. ISBN 0-632-02929-3
Hawkins, Frank H. 1987. HUMAN FACTORS IN FLIGHT. 2nd edition (Editor:
Harry W. Orlady). Avebury Technical, reprint 1993. ISBN 1-85742-135-3

Clip art
Pictures of aircraft on pages 5, 7 and 16 were from Corel Gallery 2, Click-
Art, and Master Clips (IMSI).

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 35

Section 3: Model aircraft plans
These plans are included as starting points and to use to develop skills in reading plans
and in construction methods. Read pages 27 and 28 before beginning construction.

◆ Small, uses one foam tray, easy to build

Delta-wing (p. 39)

Simple V-tail aircraft (p. 37, 38)

◆ Small, uses one foam tray, more parts, harder to build

Simple V-tail aircraft
Low-wing (flat wing, p. 40) (high aspect ratio wing,
also on the plan
Low-wing (cambered wing;
on p. 39)
included in plan on p. 40)

Canard aircraft (p. 41)

◆ Larger, uses two foam trays, demanding to build

The low aspect ratio version (p. 45–48)

The high aspect ratio version (p. 45, 47–49)

Levels of difficulty of plans

Scale: 1–5 (1: relatively simple; year 6/7;
5: most difficult; years 8–10+)
1 Small, delta-wing
(p. 39)

2 Small, V-tail, low

aspect ratio (p. 37, 38)

3 Small, V-tail, high

aspect ratio (p. 40,
combined plan);
canard (p. 41);
small, low-
wing (p. 40)

4 Large, low
aspect ratio Note: this aircraft is the most
Twin-boom, inverted V-tail
wing (p. 45–48) difficult to build, but has been
aircraft (p. 43, 44)
included as it demonstrates
5 Large, high the use of a template and a
aspect ratio jig for alignment
wing (p. 45, 47–49);
twin-boom model
(p. 43, 44)

36 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

1 Small, simple, V-tail aircraft
Note: Although this design is
aimed at younger and/or more
inexperienced builders, the scoring
of control hinges is recommended.
An ice-block stick, with a rounded
edge at one end, is a useful finger-
nail substitute for bevelling edges
and scoring grooves.
(optional) camber
the wing leading
edge
bend the
t wards. If bent without first scoring it, the
leading edge
downwards
between your thumb
and forefinger
Using the V tail ‘ruddervators’
(Note: the control surface angles
shown are exaggerated – make
only small adjustments)
To turn in one direction, bend
one up, the other down:
(a left turn is shown)
To increase angle of attack,
bend both up:
To decrease angle of attack,
bend both down:
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
This plan (next page) has been included as a starter to help your students to
gain skills and confidence in construction. It has only four pieces and is made
from one large tray. The ‘V’ tail is unusual, but the ‘V’ shape allows it to act as
both a tailplane and a fin, helping it to be simple and robust. The aircraft also
suits bungee launching. The aircraft flies quite well, and a high aspect ratio,
cambered wing version is included (dashed grey line, and ribs in grey).
Note the difference in angle between the wing and tailplane (‘longitudinal
dihedral’), and the wing dihedral, both essential for stability; the centre of
gravity is marked but may vary for individual aircraft.
This plan also allows sharp scissors to be used rather than a cutting knife.
The stages in building it
1 Cut the rim off one tray, using either scissors (preferred for safety with
younger children) or with a trimming knife.
2 Copy the plan and cut around the dotted line and tape the plan to the top
side of the tray material. Cut out the pieces of the
aircraft with scissors or with a trimming knife,
cutting through the paper.
use
3 Round the edges of the wing and tailplane the flat
with sandpaper, or simply place them top of your fingernail to
bevel the edges of the
side upwards on a desk and run the flat of your wing and tailplane (before
fingernail along the edges to bevel them (if cut with bending for dihedral)
scissors they will already be slightly rounded). Score
the tailplane control hinges (both sides) and bend use your thumbnail to
score the tailplane and
to establish the hinge before gluing. wing
4 Score the wing and tailplane through the plan top
along their centres on the top side (i.e. the top ruler surface
surface of the tray) and bend each half up-
score
material will probably break. (The tailplane will through
the plan ‘score’ (groove)
be bent up by 60° before gluing; the wing before bending
needs only a small bend for 1–2 cm dihedral.) wing and tailplane
5 Hot-glue the two fuselage sides together with the tray upper surface on the
outside. Place one side on a flat surface and press the other on to it and
hold until the glue has set to ensure that the fuselage is straight.
Round the edges of the fuselage, either by running the flat surface of a
fingernail along them while held flat on a desk, or by using sandpaper.
6 Place the tailplane on a table, run some hot glue along the centre, raise
one side by 60° using the jig to make the angle*, and hold it while the glue
sets. Ensure that the underside of the fuselage where the tailplane is to be
glued has a ‘v’ angle, from pressing it or by cutting it. Glue the tailplane to
the fuselage, holding it until it has set and checking that the angle is equal
on each side of the fuselage. (*Anywhere between 50°–80° works fine.)
7 You may prefer to first run a little glue along the upper surface of the wing
along the crease to hold its dihedral angle, otherwise glue it to the fuse-
lage. Check that it has a small amount of dihedral (1–2 cm) and that the
wing is not tilted to one side. Hold it in place until the glue has set.
Check the alignment of
wings and tailplane by looking
at it from the front.
8 Add Plasticine to the nose until the centre of gravity is close to that marked
on the plan and then test-fly it (see pages 29–31).
9 Adding camber to the leading edge of the wing can improve the perform-
ance. Hold the wing between thumb and forefinger, as shown, and gently
bend the first 10–15 mm along the leading edge downwards by 3–6 mm.
37
 Grey dashed line is for a high
Cut along the dotted lines

38
aspect ratio wing version; wing
for a high aspect ratio version, in two halves, it can be cambered
camber the wing (p. 26), glue a with ribs if you want to, similar to
rib to each wing root, bevel trailing the larger aircraft.
edge for a slightly better performance
(p.26), glue wings together (about Mark the centre line for scoring
edge wing ribs for high aspect ratio
1–1.5 cm dihedral), glue leading on the uper surface (pressing a
to fuselage. wing (use only if you camber
groove along it) to allow the the wing)
wing to bend here for dihedral
(about 1cm).
Construction summary
It is easiest to score the wing and • Cut off the tray edge, tape the
tailplane through the plan plan to the upper tray
before cutting. surface. Cut out all pieces,
identify the top tray surface
on each part. Smooth/round
edges of wing, tailplane, fin.
wing • Glue the two halves of the
fuselage together, tray top
surface outermost. Round the
edges.
• Score the wing centre line,
bend up (1 cm) for dihedral,
run glue along top of bend
to hold it.
• Fit the wing to the fuselage,
glue in place.
• Score the tailplane ‘hinges’
on both sides, bend hinge to
high aspect ratio wing position give it some movement, glue
in place.
bevel the lower
edge to mount • Score tailplane centre line,
wing position the tailplane bend up, partly straighten it,
then run glue along the bend
line, bend up again and hold
left fuselage side it against the jig in the centre
to give the required angle.
• Bevel fuselage for tailplane,
‘V’ tailplane position glue tailplane to fuselage.
• Add Plasticine so CG is where
(Note: these edges are all straight, if using a trimming knife marked on plan, test fly.
then use a ruler to guide it)
CG High aspect ratio wing version
right fuselage side
Note, this is harder to make.
• Optional: Camber the wing
halves (top tray surface
fuselage position uppermost), bevel trailing
edge if required, glue the ribs
position of a bungee in place at a slight angle. Trim
launching hook the wing centre to allow for
(Recommended) dihedral.
score both sides cut here
ge mark the centre line for 70° • Glue the wings together,
g ed for scoring (pressing here for hinged giving 1 cm dihedral under
leadin control surfaces
a groove along it) to one wing tip.
allow the tailplane to before bending • Glue wing to fuselage.
bend here for V tail the tailplane at
V tailplane the centre line
dihedral (≈ 60°, or 70° 60° Cut out and use this as a Cut out along this dotted line,
for high aspect ratio jig when bending the tape this sheet to the upper
wing) tailplane upwards by surface of a foam tray and cut
60°–70° and gluing it through the paper and tray when
60° cutting out the parts.
Keep the upper tray surface

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

uppermost on wing and tailplane.
 Cut along the dotted line, tape this plan to upper
surface of a foam tray (after cutting off its rim).
Construction summary
• Cut off the tray edge,
tape the plan to the
upper tray surface. Cut
e out all pieces, identify
edg crease here for the top tray surface on
ing rudder hinge each part.
ad Smooth/round edges
le of wing, fin.
• Score the wing on the
top surface, bend one
wing up about 2.5 cm
cut wing in one piece, for dihedral, run glue
crease here and bend fin
along top of bend to
bend leading edge up slightly for dihedral hold the dihedral.
downwards slightly for • (Optional) camber the
camber, if desired wing leading edge (see
(see p. 40) page 37); cut out
2 Delta-winged aircraft

shaded part of fuselage

wing (one piece) to fit camber.
• Glue the two halves of
the fuselage together,

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

tray top surface
outermost. Round the
edges.
• Fit the wing to its wing
mount (trim fuselage if
required), glue in place.
• Score rudder hinge
score both sides here for both sides, bend, glue in
place.
elevon hinges, bend up and
down to establish hinges • Add Plasticine so CG is
before adding dihedral and where marked on plan,
test fly.
gluing wing
This design has only four pieces, is easy to build, and is ideal for aerobatics.

fuselage position
right fuselage side
position of leading
edge of wing position of fin
cut between and rudder
fuselage sides
wing glued on top of fuselage
(cut out shaded part
if cambering wing)
CG
left fuselage side

39
 leading edge Construction summary

40
• Cut off the tray edge, tape
wing glued over this edge the plan to the upper tray
if cambering wing, trim wing right wing curved surface. Cut out all pieces,
root to give a neat join identify the top tray surface
on each part.
wing ribs (optional, use only if cambering wing) Smooth/round edges of
wing, tailplane, fin.
• (Optional) Camber the
curved wing gl
ued over this edge
Cut along
dotted line, wing halves (top tray
tape this sheet surface uppermost), bevel
to the upper edge trailing edge if required,
(optional) after cambering leading glue the ribs in place at a
surface of a wing, bevel trailing edge to slight angle. Trim the wing
foam tray and improve performance centre to allow for dihedral.
cut through
Cut out the fuselage to fit a
the paper and cambered wing.
3 Low-wing aircraft

tray when
cutting out • Glue the (flat or cambered)
the parts. wings together, giving
g 3.5 cm dihedral under one
left win wing tip.
cut between • Glue the two halves of the
canopy fuselage together, tray top
halves surface outermost.
canopy (optional) • Glue two canopy halves
together (upper tray surface
outermost), round upper
Note ‘mirror images’ of wings, fuselage, canopy parts and edges, glue to fuselage.
wing ribs, to ensure the same surface of the plastic is on • Round the fuselage edges.
the upper or outward surfaces when glued together • Fit the wing to its wing
mount (trim fuselage if
required), glue in place.
• Score the tailplane ‘hinges’
right fuselage side
on both sides, bend hinge
to give it some movement,
glue in place.
cut between • Score rudder hinge both
fuselage sides sides, bend, glue in place.
position of fin • Add Plasticine so CG is as
position of canopy shown on plan, test fly.
left fuselage side (optional: cut out to
CG fit a cambered wing) score hinge
both sides,
bend to
establish
wing position hinge line
before
(Recommended) score both sides gluing to
tailplane here for hinged control surfaces, fuselage
and bend up and down to establish
the hinge line before gluing
mark centre-line tailplane to fuselage
fin & rudder
ge
leading ed
fuselage position

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

 large tray outline; cut edge off tray; cut around this dotted line, tape paper to upper tray surface
leading edge Construction summary
Cut off the tray edge, tape
the plan to the upper tray
surface.
Score the hinge lines for
If you want a cut out left wing the elevators, rudder, and
swept-forward around outline for mark the foreplane centre-
wing variant then solid lines swept-
forward line.
cut each wing
root to the dotted wing Decide whether the wing
outline will be cambered or flat,
leading ed
ge and choose the standard
It flies in
this direction! or swept-forward wing.
Cut out all parts, matching
the rudder shape to your
A swept-forward wing
variant looks even more choice of wing section.
unusual. It looks like this Round the edges of the
in plan view wing, foreplane and fin
(Optional: bevel the wing
about 2.5–3cm dihedral and forewing trailing
right wing under one wingtip edges).
Cambered option: camber
4 Canard (‘tail-first’) aircraft

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

the wing and glue the wing
ribs to the wing roots (put
the glue on the wing).
score rudder Whether cambered or not,
hinge line
glue the wing halves
together with 2.5–3cm
positio dihedral under one tip.
(camb n of wing ribs at wing root (only if cambering the wing) fin Score the rudder hinge on
ered o
ption
show both sides, bend. Glue the
n) fin to the wing, ensuring
cut base of fin to this line correct alignment. The fin
positio for cambered wing will be used to position the
n of fo
replan wing on the fuselage.
e
Score the forewing elevator
left fu hinges on both sides, cut
selage position of fin
right f elevator, bend.
uselag
e Glue the two fuselage
halves together, upper tray
surface outwards. Round
(see next page for views and additional notes)

the edges (except at wing

CG
cut posit and foreplane positions).
hinge
line (flat-pion of wing Glue the foreplane in
foreplane for ele
vator late o
ption
show position, then the wing
n) (with the fin).
score hinges
Add weight to bring the
mark centre line centre of gravity (CG) to the
position marked.
Test fly. Make only small

41
leading edge adjustments to the
elevators for each flight.
Views of the canard and twin-boom designs to show details of their construction
canard
Alberto Santos-Dumont made Europe’s
first recognised powered flights in
1906 in a tailfirst biplane. Its nickname
of canard, or duck, has stuck; the
outline of a duck in flight suggests why.
Canard (‘tail-first’) aircraft
Canard aircraft have a foreplane and rear-mounted
wing. This design layout was used in the Wright’s Flyer,
being chosen primarily for stall protection. The canard
has been seen again in supersonic aircraft and in
home-built sport aircraft; it has been included here to
widen the spectrum of aircraft designs.
Both flying surfaces of a canard provide lift (in contrast
to a tailplane giving a downward force), which should
give a performance advantage. However, it is difficult
to make a model canard fly well as it needs careful
matching of foreplane lift to the lift of its wing, other-
wise at higher speeds the aircraft will nose down as the
increasing forward pitching moment and greater wing
lift raises the rear. At high angles of attack it can also
be unstable, as the foreplane is at an even greater
angle of attack than the wing and can continue to lift
the nose until both surfaces stall. A major attraction of
the canard is that the foreplane should stall before the
main wing, making it inherently safer, but this happens
only within a small range of angles of attack. The CG
position is critical and must be ahead of the wing to
provide a nose-down moment at increased angles of
attack. The fin also needs to be placed sufficiently
rearward for effective leverage, usually resulting in an
extended rear fuselage or fins at the tips of swept-back
wings, an arrangement also having disadvantages.
Although full-size canard aircraft have to contend with
the same problems, they do enable a rear-mounted
engine position, taking advantage of the greater
efficiency of a pusher propeller on an aft-facing en-
gine, giving high aircraft performance from small
engines. Look for canards designed by Burt Rutan of
Scaled Composites.
However, a canard is an interesting design option for a
model, especially where a low wing-loading is required,
as little additional nose-weight is needed. It can be
easily trimmed for different performance requirements.
42
twin-boom, inverted V-tail
The plans of the twin-boom inverted V-tail aircraft and
the canard are included to provide diversity of aircraft
designs and to show that they still follow the same
principles as more conventional designs.
There is sufficient diversity of designs included in this
book to use as exemplars for students developing their
own designs, and also to use for a school ‘Flight com-
petition’. It should not be difficult to involve local
businesses in offering small prizes for a competition
(e.g. using tasks suggested on page 21), perhaps having
the finals at your local shopping mall.
Powered models
Rubber-powered models using ready-made plastic
propellers could easily be built from the foam material.
The simplest option is to make a deeper fuselage with a
slot for the rubber, building up the nose to mount the
propeller. Note that a low-wing model needs 3°–4°
down-thrust, a high-wing design usually needs even
more down-thrust. A comparatively expensive option
would be to use tiny electric motors with suitable
rechargeable batteries. However, powered models were
regarded as beyond the level required to develop an
understanding of basic principles of flight and there-
fore such plans
have not been slot in fuselage for
rubber strip motor bamboo
included. skewer
Contact your
nearest model 1mm plywood
aircraft club or plastic sheet
for assist-
extra layers of foam
ance.
1mm plywood or plastic sheet
down-thrust to face the nose for a propeller
in relation mount (~100mm plastic prop.)
to wing
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
 Read all instructions first; cut edge off a large foam tray; cut around this dotted line, tape paper to upper tray surface

leading edge
Construction summary
wing root ribs Cut off the tray edge, tape
the plan to the upper tray
surface. Cut out all parts,
smooth wing edges.
trim wing root slightly to allow
for dihedral at the join right wing panel Camber the wing sections;
bevel the trailing edges. Glue
Optional: score the wing both ribs to centre of centre
underneath here to bend the tips wing panel.
downwards (or score the upper
surface to bend upwards) – mark Glue boom halves together,
upper tray surface outwards,

left fuselage side

the position when cutting the
wing or use the template smooth edges.
provided to mark the bend after Glue booms to wing (they
cutting out form the end wing ribs). Align
cut with a trimming knife along a ruler to separate the wing panels using the template; leave
1–1.5mm protruding past
the wing end to locate the
outer wing panels.
left wing panel
Cut elevators in tailplane,

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

bend to form hinge. Bend
tailplane in centre, glue
centre joint and hold it on

CG
the template until it sets.
Using the alignment jig, glue
5 Twin-boom, inverted ‘V’ tail model

tailplane ends to booms.

Glue each wing outer panel
(pre-shaped) to each end of
the centre panel, with about
don't round 1.5–2 cm dihedral for each
or smooth panel, checking alignment
leadi
ng edg
e
the edges of of each.
the wing Optional: score and bend the
ition mount wingtips down (or up), gluing
g pos at the angles suggested, now
win om
t bo or after test flights.
righ
ether Check that each half of the
rds when fuselage halves glued tog oom
upper tray surface outwa lef t b wing is the same; with
right fuselage side neither twisted.
to gether Glue fuselage halves
om ha lves glued
s when bo together, smooth, glue to
rd wing centre.
be outwa left boom
tray su rface must
tailplane the upper Add weight, test-fly.
position (the
booms can be right boom
rounded here)

43
All wing parts must have the upper tray surface as the wing upper surface (upper surface looks smoother and less shiny than the lower surface)
 note tailplane position: elevator
extends beyond the boom

44
ensure that 1–1.5mm of the boom
protrudes beyond the wing centre
panel to align the outer wing panels small tray outline (tray approx 130 x 235mm) or half large tray; cut edge off tray; cut around this dotted line, tape paper to upper tray surface

Note: the wingtip treatment is

unlikely to improve the performance centre of wing
of an aircraft this size – however, it wing centre panel
does help give it a distinctive
appearance!
In theory, an upswept tip (winglet) glue two ribs together
may extract energy from the tip in these positions
vortex; a downswept tip may help the
tip vortex to form further outwards,
effectively increasing the aspect ratio,
or may trap higher-pressure air under position of
boom
the wing to increase lift. The
downswept tip suggested doesn't
seem to reduce performance, but
whether there is any improvement
isn’t known! A challenging project
could be to investigate if there is any tailplane bend downwards
effect at all of having the wing tips 66° here
bent either upwards or downwards. score

cut
elevator elevator

tailplane position
- top of ‘V’ While gluing the centre bend, you may (bend is
need to hold the tailplane at about this angled 2° 30° bend wing tip down
angle while the glue sets to allow for outwards) about 30° and glue
(tailplane at –4°
incidence in relation the ‘spring-back’ of the foam material
to wing at 0°) 114° tailplane template
(tailplane is an inverted ‘V’) 60° alternatively, bend
Use this outline as a jig to line score the tip up about 60°
up the booms on the wing, so wingtip
booms are parallel and at right use this as a template to score the
here for wingtip to bend downwards – it
angles to the wing. bend could be done after the first test
flights so you can compare the
performance with and without
the bent tips.

tail tail
boom boom

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

Alignment jig for angling tailplane in relation to wing. Copy or
trace it on to light card, or cut from foam. Place under wing and Position of wing
align centre of tailplane on it when gluing it to the booms. at the centre
 ‘wide’ wing glued between the arrows Parts sheet 1

Centre: front CG
x 2mm nails
al) cut out space in the centre piece for five ‘jolt-head’ 40
(option ight required
the amount of additional we
to provide weight to reduce

These outlines
enable the left and
right fuselage parts
tailplane Side: front to have the same
side of the tray as
their outer surface

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

Side: f
ront

Outline of tray

leading edg
area usable for an
aircraft (overall
rear tray size approx.
tailplane centre line Side: 26cm x 21cm)

Crease both sides

here, and bend to
form the elevator Cut out the usable
hinge lines before area of the tray
gluing the tailplane first, then cut
to the fuselage around this outline
6 Large aircraft, low and high aspect ratio versions

crease for a and tape it to the

rear
Side: rudder hinge upper surface of
the tray as a
cutting guide. With
a trimming knife,
cut through the
paper and the tray
material at the
same time.

Centre: rear

45
 Look at the aircraft front-on

The plastic develops a curve

(one reason for having the same Check that the wing is not
plastic surface upwards on both twisted, that everything
wing-halves) looks the same on left and
right sides
Parts sheet 2

If some parts are not aligned, you can gently

twist them to bring them into alignment

ed to rib
approx. 1 : 5.2 wing glu
Aspect ratio

wing rib

d en
ease and b
tional): cr
aileron (op
cut

shiny and sparkles less than the lower surface

The upper surface looks smoother, is not as
leading edge of wing

wing
leading edge of

Ensure that the upper surface of the tray is

, cut

also the upper surface of each wing-half

aileron (optional): crease and bend
trim wing root back to this
line to allow for dihedral

wing rib
wing glued to rib

46 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

 Construction summary
Low aspect ratio version, fuselage for both versions (see the
plans for the high aspect ratio version wing for its instructions)
rudder
hinge
line
Note the arrangement of nails in the centre wing
space at the nose, they reduce the amount
of additional weight required CG Note: Fuselage shown at reduced size)
wing at +2.5° to +3° compared to fuselage mid-line;
tailplane at -1.5° to -1°, giving a difference in angles of
incidence between wing and tailplane of at least 4° join line of join line of
outer pieces centre pieces
tailplane

1 Cut the edges off two trays, tape parts sheets 1 and 2 to the upper surfaces 8 Cut out wings and ribs (parts sheet 2), being careful to ensure that the
of each tray. Cut out all fuselage parts and tailplane (parts sheet 1). upper surface of the tray is also the upper surface of each wing half
2 Round the edges of the fin. Crease the rudder ‘hinge’ by running a finger (otherwise the tray material cracks when trying to shape the camber of
nail along the edge of a ruler along the ‘hinge’ line on each side of the fin. the wing).

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

Bend to form the hinge. 9 Round the wing edges (sandpaper). It is better if the trailing edge is bevelled,
3 Glue the centre fuselage halves together at the ‘V’ joint. When gluing edges, but after the wing has been cambered (step 11).
smear glue along one edge and then quickly press the two pieces together. 10 Trim the wing root (to dotted line on plan) to allow for the dihedral angle
The glue stays soft for a minute or two, allowing time to align the two of the wing ribs (the ribs need only a slight angle).
fuselage pieces. 11 Place the wing over the curved edge of a table or other curved object and
Align the two fuselage pieces on the alignment template to ensure that gently rub the heel of your hand along it to bend it to provide camber, Ribs are glued at the wing
the wing and tailplane mounting areas are at the correct angles. Hold them ensuring that the upper surface of the tray material is also the upper root at a slight angle to
in alignment until the glue sets. surface of the wing. allow for dihedral
4 Trim the upper edges of the part of the rear sides above the tailplane. Then 12 Glue ribs to each wing root (at an angle for dihedral), holding the wing to
glue one front piece to one side, with the tray upper surface outermost. the rib until the glue sets. Bevel the wing trailing edge: place a wing half
Then glue the rear side piece to the same side, taking care to also glue the at the edge of a table and use the edge as a guide for a trimming knife to
bevel the
‘V’ joints and to ensure that the upper tray surface is on the outside of the carefully cut a 7 –10 mm bevel. trailing edge
fuselage sides. Hold flat on the template while the glue sets. Glue ribs and wing halves together (with about 4 cm dihedral) and then use the
When gluing two pieces by their surfaces, run glue along the surface glue the whole wing to the completed and shaped fuselage. wing table edge
around the perimeter of the shape and add a few streaks in the centre, to guide the
Check that all flying surfaces (wings, tail, fin) are not warped and are the trimming
then press the shape together. The foam plastic material is a good insulator same on each side (e.g. one wing isn’t twisted); bend carefully and gently knife
and providing the gluing is done at reasonable speed the glue will stay to reshape if needed. table
soft long enough to stick parts together. If the glue has cooled too much 13 Add weight to the nose (Plasticine) until the centre of gravity is about
then more hot glue must be added, it can’t be re-softened without melting Bevel the trailing edge after cambering
30–40 mm rearward from the wing leading edge as a starting point. The the wing and gluing ribs to it, but before
the foam plastic material. nails (in the centre of the fuselage at the nose) reduce the amount of extra gluing the wing sections together
5 Arrange, press and glue 5 nails in the space at the nose, then glue the weight needed.
opposite side front and rear pieces. 14 Test fly, removing/adding weight until the aircraft flies well (i.e. doesn’t wing
6 Trim the edges of the completed fuselage (except at the wing and tailplane dive, climb/stall, and can recover from its flight being disturbed or from about 4cm
mounts) and smooth with fine sandpaper (e.g. 150 grit). poor launches). Note that if the angle of the tailplane with respect to the dihedral
7 Cut out the tailplane, mark the centre-line, crease the elevator hinges both wing is less than the approximately 4° difference on the plan it may not
sides, bend, glue the tailplane to the fuselage at right angles to the fin and fly at all.
with the centre line aligned to the fuselage.

47
48
Alignment template for centre fuselage parts

ra
se fo
crea er hinge
rudd
ate
t templ
n
nme
Alig

e
piec
tre rear
Cen
on
ep ositi
Tai lplan

ylar
a p e r or M
p e
nch e glu
e ce of lu stop th
pi n to te
Put a r the joi templa
e h e
und ing to t
stick

join
wing ge ece
( 3 -p iece) front pi
’ G ran re
o f ‘narrow approx. Cvariants Cent
ion oth
posit for b
ing
f ‘w ide’ w lage
ion o th e fuse
posit h
neat °–5°
l ate be bout a 4
emp ave a luing
nment t ilplane h
te w hen g ight
lig ta tra
a s an a ing and is templa than a s
r
use ew ith th nge
n c a rd to e that th idence. areas w int is stro
r c
ut i o ensu s of in ounting he ‘V’ jo
his o t le T
Cut t e pieces heir ang d wing mogether. rea.
n t r in t e an ce s t er
g a
ce e
d i f fe renc e tailplanentre pie ver a lar
o Note the ribs glued to the
up th ge c ead wing centre section before the
Line o fusela ad is spr
w outer panels are glued to it

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

the t as the lo
joint
 wing ribs Parts sheet 2a
Construction
centre of wing Cut out all
parts, smooth
wing edges.
glue ribs in Camber all
these positions wing sections;
glue ribs at each end bevel the
of this centre section trailing edges
wing centre section (optional).
Glue ribs to
centre and
ends of centre
wing panel.

surface upwards on all wing panels)

The plastic develops a curve (which is
why it is important to keep the tray top
Glue each wing
outer panel

Look at the aircraft front-on

(pre-shaped) to
each end of the
cut with a trimming knife along a centre panel,

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight

ruler to separate the wing panels with about
1.5–2 cm
dihedral for
each panel,
checking
alignment of
each.
Check that each
half of the wing
is the same; no
wing leading ed twisting.
ge
Glue wing to
fuselage.

left and right sides

twist them to bring them into alignment
If some parts are not aligned, you can gently
note curve Aspect ratio
to allow for approx. 1 : 11.8

that everything looks the same on

Check that the wing is not twisted,
dihedral Wing wing is approximately the same area
as the normal ‘wide’ wing; the camber
increases performance and wing rigidity

wing leading edge

All wing parts must have the upper tray surface as the wing upper surface (upper surface looks smoother and less shiny than the lower surface)

49
Section 4: Appendices
Units and some conversion factors; Newton
Units
Wing area is expressed in m 2 (square metres)
Velocity is expressed in ms -1 (metres per second)
Mass is expressed in kg (but weight is expressed in N).
Energy is the capacity for doing work and is expressed
in joules; one joule is the work done when a force of
one newton moves its point of application one
metre in the direction of the force (i.e. force times
distance).
1 J = 1 newton metre = 1 watt-second. A megajoule
(10 6 J) is about 0.28 kilowatt-hour.
Work done by a force = force times distance, expressed
in Joules. Power is the rate of doing work (see below).
Force is the intensity of a push or pull on an object free
to move, i.e. the push or pull producing unit accel-
eration in unit mass. Force is expressed in newtons.
A newton, N, is the force required to give a 1kg mass
an acceleration of 1m s -2 (1 metre per second each
second). Lift, weight, drag and thrust are forces on
an aircraft.
Weight is the gravity constant acting on a mass. Weight
is equal to mass multiplied by the gravity constant
(see below). The unit of mass is the kilogram, the
unit of weight is the newton (N).
Although we use kilograms as a measure of weight in
everyday use because our gravity in effect remains
constant, in equations involving weight the unit
must be the newton.
For most purposes we can assume that 1 kg ≈ 10 N,
or 1 N ≈ 0.1 kg. The common use of mass units when
talking of weight is confusing to children!
Acceleration due to gravity on Earth is 9.81 ms -2 and is
numerically the same as the gravity constant. Gravity
acts on all mass on Earth, giving weight if the mass is
not free to move, and causing a body free to move to
accelerate downwards at 9.81ms -2; the acceleration
is independent of its mass.
Wing loading is the weight of the aircraft divided by the
area of the wings, expressed as newtons per square
metre of wing (Nm -2). The higher the wing loading
the higher the airspeed required to generate the
necessary lift.
Power is the rate of work: the amount of energy ex-
pended per second; expressed in watts. 1 W = 1 Js -1
(1 watt = 1 joule per second).
Work is in newton metres, or joules, so power is
energy per second or joules per second or newton
metres per second.
As energy = force times distance, power is force
times distance per second; distance per second is
speed, so power = force times speed.
50
Power: Professional athletes can produce 350 watts
for a minute or so, or 200 watts for several hours
(amateur athletes can produce 200 watts for less
than an hour). 1 horsepower = 750 watts.
Example (from Tennekes): Energy required to climb a
flight of stairs: assume you weigh 70kg (≈700N) and
the vertical distance climbed is 3 m; energy = force ×
distance = 700 × 3 = 2100J. A gram of peanut butter
has 27k J, assume 20% converted to useful work,
giving 5400 J, then you could climb these stairs on
less than 0.5 g of peanut butter.
However, power (rate of energy expenditure) is a
different story: if the vertical speed is 0.5m sec -1 the
power required = force × speed = 700 × 0.5 = 350w
(which only a professional athlete could maintain).
A 350 tonne Boeing 747 at take-off climbs at
15 msec -1 (3000 ft/min), and apart from the power
needed to remain airborne its engines must supply
(350 × 1000 × 10)N × 15 = over 50 Mw of power!
Conversion factors
When visiting aircraft museums and using many
reference materials, imperial or US measurements are
mostly used. As they may mean little to students, these
conversion factors are included.
1m = 3.281 feet; to convert feet to metres multiply by
0.305
1 knot = 1.85 kmh -1
1kg = 2.205 lb; to convert pounds to kg, multiply
pounds by 0.45
1 kW = 1.34 hp; to convert horsepower to kW multiply
by 0.746
1 litre = 0.22 Imp. gallons, 0.24 US gals
1 Imp. gallon = 4.546 litres; 1 US gallon = 4.228 litres
Newton’s Second Law of Motion
This law may be stated in different ways. Usually:
The rate of change of momentum is proportional to
the force applied and takes place in the direction of
the force.
Or, it can be stated as:
Force equals the rate of change of momentum.
(A body moving in a straight path would have a momentum
of its mass times its velocity.)
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
The International Standard Atmosphere

The properties of the atmosphere vary considerably with weather conditions. As

aircraft operation and the performance of engines and of aircraft are affected by
such properties as temperature, density and pressure, it is simpler to have a
‘standard atmosphere’ and to compare the actual conditions with what they
would be for a ‘standard’ and to make corrections accordingly. It is also used in
the calibration of instruments (altimeter, airspeed, vertical speed).

Speed of Density Pressure Temp Height above sea level Temp Pressure Relative Relative
sound (kg/m3) (kN/m2) (K) (km) (1000s (°C) (mb) density pressure
(m/s) of feet) (ρ/ρ0) (p/p0)

299 0.040 2.5 222 25

80 –52 28 0.036 0.028

Upper Stratosphere
298 0.047 3.0 221 24
298 0.055 3.5 220 23 75 –54 35 0.046 0.035
297 0.065 4.0 219 22
70 –55 45 0.059 0.044
296 0.076 4.7 218 21
295 0.089 5.5 217 20 65 –56 57 0.075 0.056
295 0.104 6.5 217 19
60 –56 72 0.095 0.071
295 0.122 7.6 217 18
Lower Stratosphere

295 0.142 8.8 217 17 55 –56 92 0.121 0.091

295 0.166 10.4 217 16
50 –56 117 0.153 0.115
295 0.195 12.1 217 15

295 0.228 14.2 217 14 45 –56 148 0.194 0.145

295 0.267 16.6 217 13 Tropopause:
40 –56 188 0.247 0.186 11 000m 36 091ft
295 0.312 19.4 217 12
–56.5°C 226mb
295 0.365 22.7 217 11
35 –54 239 0.311 0.236
299 0.414 26.5 223 10 high cirrus
clouds
304 0.467 30.8 230 9 30 –44 301 0.375 0.298

308 0.526 35.7 236 8

25 –34 377 0.449 0.372 high cumulus
313 0.590 41.1 243 7 clouds

317 0.660 47.2 249 6 20 –25 466 0.533 0.460

Troposphere

lenticular clouds
321 0.736 54.0 256 5
15 –15 572 0.629 0.565
325 0.819 61.7 262 4
stratus and
Aorangi/ nimbus
329 0.909 70.1 269 3 10 –5 697 0.739 0.688 Mt Cook clouds
333 1.007 79.5 275 2
5 5 843 0.862 0.832
337 1.112 86.9 282 1
340 1.225 101.3 288 sea level 15 1013 1.000 1.000
The international standard atmosphere, for dry air, as determined
by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation):
msl (Mean Sea Level): temperature = +15°C
msl pressure = 1013.2mb (1 atm) = 101325 pascals or 1.01325 bar
[1 millibar = 100 pascal (1mb = 100 Pa); 1Pa = 1N/m2]
From msl to 11 km: decrease in temperature 6.5°C/km (2°C per
thousand ft)
From 11 km to 20 km: isothermal temperature = –56.5°C
From 20 km to 32 km: a rise in temperature of about 1°C/km
1 millibar = 100 pascal (1mb = 100 Pa); 1Pa = 1N/m2

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 51

Concorde, paper darts, and bumble bees
Highly swept-back delta wings, as
on a paper dart and the Concorde,
develop lift when at high angles of attack
with an upper surface vortex. The rapid spiralling
rotation of air in this vortex produces a much lower
pressure over the upper surface and therefore pro-
duces lift, but at the cost of high drag. The Concorde
utilises vortex lift only when landing and taking off, but
the penalty is the very high fuel consumption required
to overcome the high drag; the advantage is that it
avoids the complexity, weight and development cost of
lift-enhancing devices such as leading edge slats and
trailing edge flaps, which would have been extremely
difficult to provide on an aircraft of this shape. If you
wondered why it doesn’t stall at such a high angle of
attack when landing, the vortex is the answer.
The Concorde must have a wide flight-speed range
because the same wing has to enable it to land at low
speeds (163 knots, or 301.5 kmh -1) on existing run-
ways, and to fly at a cruising speed of Mach 2 at 58 000
feet (ground-speed of around 1320 knots, or 2442
kmh -1). This means that at Mach 2 it has a wing much
larger than needed (as it develops lift in the conven-
tional manner), while at speeds below 250 knots (462.5
kmh -1) it must utilise vortex lift at a high angle of
attack to provide sufficient lift. The result of this
Wind shear, eddies around obstructions
Because your model flies slowly it is more affected by
air movements. In the (very!) low altitudes a model
flies the eddying of wind around obstructions, with the
consequent rapidly changing air movements over a
small distance, can make it fly erratically. Flying it
inside a building will tell you whether it’s the design or
the flying conditions responsible for the erratic flight.
Wind shear is when layers of air
are moving at different speeds
and sliding over each other,
horizontally or vertically
At low levels the air is often very turbulent because of the effects of trees,
buildings, etc. Small model aircraft may have difficulty in flying in areas
surrounded by obstructions due to the consequent air turbulence.
52
necessary compromise is that the Concorde’s lift:drag
(L/D) ratio at Mach 2 is 7.5, at subsonic speeds (Mach
0.95) it is about 12, and at landing and takeoff speeds
it is about 4 (when a subsonic passenger jet is about 9).
Note: 1 knot = 1.85 kmh -1.
Bumble bees also create an attached vortex above their
wings which gives the necessary amount of lift. The
fallacious statement that “according to science bumble
bees can’t fly” may have arisen because ‘conventional’
aerodynamic theory (as described in this book) applies
to a rigid wing moving through the air, not to tiny
wings moving in complex patterns. Conventional
theory explains bird flight however.
When conventional theory was applied to insect flight
the results showed that insufficient lift would be
generated; obviously, insects were generating enough
lift, but the exact mechanism was unknown until
recently.
The discovery of insect utilisation of vortex lift was
described in New Scientist, 11 October 1997, p. 24:
‘On a wing and a vortex’.
much higher
angle of attack
than ‘ordinary’ wings
You could have your students find out more about how
weather affects full-size aircraft, in particular of wind
shear on landing or takeoff.
Friction with the ground slows air
movement, so wind speeds at low
levels increase with altitude
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Aircraft flying in windy conditions

When you look up at an aircraft flying

overhead and across the wind it appears to
be flying partly sideways. However, to the
aircraft, the ‘relative wind’ is still
directly in line with its flight path, as
the diagrams on the right show.
When an aircraft lands cross-
wind it must then fly sideways
in relation to the ground
(in a turn), but
‘straighten’ before it
touches down. Which
wing would the pilot
hold lower in relation
to a side-wind? (Hint:
think of an aircraft
turning.) Have a
pilot talk to your class
about landing
techniques in various
conditions.
An aircraft flies straight in the air,
even though the air is moving
across the ground as a wind
wind
To an observer on the
ground the aircraft seems
to be ‘flying sideways’
Movement of
air is a wind
win
d
The aircraft is still flying
straight through the air,
although the air has moved
across the ground, carrying
the aircraft with it

The slower an aircraft flies, the greater the effect of a

d
headwind on the time it takes to fly from one place
in
lw
i
to another. You could suggest your class calculate
Ta

the extra flight times for aircraft travelling at

different speeds (e.g. a jet passenger
transport with a cruising speed of An aircraft cruises at
a constant speed
800 km h -1 would be less affected by a through the air
head wind of 100kmh-1 than an (airspeed)
aircraft that cruises at 300km h -1).
A longer flight time due to head
winds would, of course, affect
Tailwind:
fuel consumption. Migratory groundspeed = airspeed + wind speed
birds face similar problems
of time and fuel (food)
consumption.
Why do aircraft land
d
in

and takeoff into the

dw
ea

wind? What would be

H

the effect of landing

and taking off downwind?!
Headwind:
groundspeed = airspeed – wind speed

Suggestion: If a light, steady wind is blowing, have your stu-

dents fly their aircraft on a course around the grounds which
involves headwind, tailwind and sidewind legs. They will then
experience how to ‘navigate’ when having to take winds into
account. You could extend it to compass headings if you want
to take it further and try a ‘flight orienteering’ course.

The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight 53

A few significant dates
There are many thousands of ‘firsts’ in aircraft, but
only a few have been selected here. You could use
some of them to illustrate the technological develop-
ments which made them attainable and then eventually
a matter of commonplace happening. Although it is
less than 100 years since the first flight by the Wright
brothers we have, amongst many thousands of mile-
stones, seen landings on the moon and scheduled
supersonic passenger flights over 20 years ago. Some
dates are selected to show that model aircraft were
used to develop ideas, something this book is hopefully
encouraging! Dates for more esoteric milestones, and
space exploration, have been ignored. For further
dates refer to the books listed in the bibliography.
BC
863 The legend of Bladud, the ninth king of Britain. He is
killed when he attempts to fly from the Temple of Apollo
in Trinavantum (London) using wings covered in feath-
ers, probably in 843 BC.
470–391 Mo Ti (Tzu) in China is said to have invented the
kite. China in the 4th century BC is recognised as the
birthplace of the kite, used for pleasure and war.
400–350 Archytas of Terentum, Italy, is a Greek-born scientist,
philosopher and mathematician; he builds a small
wooden bird suspended from the end of a pivoted arm
and propelled by a steam or compressed air jet (jet pro-
pulsion has a long history!).
AD
c.875 Spanish physician Abbas ibn-Fimas said to have made a
flight with wings attached to his body, and injured be-
cause he neglected to make a tail.
c. 1325 First known illustration of a model of a helicopter
(shown in a Flemish manuscript).
1485-1500 Leonardo da Vinci designs a variety of ornithopters,
but none flew.
1680 In De Motu Animalium, Giovanni Alfonso Borelli demon-
strates the inadequacy of human muscle power for
ornithopter flight.
1709 In Portugal, Laurengo de Gusmão builds and perhaps
achieves tentative flight with a bird-shaped model glider
called the Passarola.
June 5, 1783 First public demonstration of a hot-air balloon
(unmanned) by the Montgolfier brothers, France.
Nov. 21, 1783 First journey by air, by François Pilâtre de Rozier
and the Marquis d’Arlandes, in a hot-air balloon built by
the Montgolfiers, from the Château la Muette to the
Butte-aux-Cailles, remaining airborne for 25 minutes.
1796 In England, George Cayley flies a model helicopter.
1804 Cayley flies a model glider of modern configuration, re-
garded by some as perhaps the first original aeroplane.
1809 Cayley designs an unmanned, full-sized glider.
1809-1810 Cayley publishes papers on aviation, laying the foun-
dation of modern aerodynamics and containing
illustrations of his 1796 helicopter, the prototype for sub-
sequent helicopter development.
1871 Alphonse Pénaud flies a stable, powered model monoplane.
1871 Wenham & Browning make the first wind-tunnel experiments.
c. 1874 Félix Du Temple de la Croix’s powered, man-carrying
machine achieves lift-off from an inclined ramp but does
not fly.
54
1879 Victor Tatin, in France, flies a model aeroplane powered
by a compressed air motor; it is of advanced concept,
with monoplane wings, tailplane and two 4-bladed trac-
tor-mounted (pulling) propellers.
1890 Clément Ader’s steam-powered bat-like Éole makes the
world’s first powered ‘hop’ with a pilot (leaving the
ground briefly under power), but does not fly.
1891-1896 Otto Lilienthal achieves a series of successful pi-
loted glider flights.
1893 Invention of the box kite by Lawrence Hargrave in Australia.
1896 Chanute successfully tests a biplane glider, its wings
braced by a type of truss used in bridge-building.
1896 Samuel Pierpont Langley achieves success with two steam-
powered, tandem-winged scale-model aeroplanes. He was
unsuccessful with full-size aircraft.
1899 Wilbur and Orville Wright invent a system of wing warp-
ing and fly a kite using it.
Dec. 17, 1903 Wrights achieve powered, sustained, controlled
flight from level ground in Flyer I at Kill Devil Hills.
November 13, 1907 First free flight by a helicopter, Paul
Cornu, Lisieux, France.
July 25, 1909 First flight across the English Channel by aircraft,
by Lois Blériot in a Blériot XI monoplane, from Les
Baraques near Calais, starting at 4.41am, landing at
Northfall Meadows by Dover Castle, 36.5 minutes later.
March 8, 1910 Madame La Baronne de Laroche becomes the
first certificated woman pilot (and the 36th French pilot).
November 14, 1910 First flight from a ship (Eugene B. Ely, in a
Curtis pusher, from a 25m platform on the anchored USS
Birmingham).
March 11, 1918 The world’s first scheduled international air-
mail service begins, between Vienna and Kiev, using
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I biplanes.
September 10, 1928 The first crossing of the Tasman Sea: the
‘Southern Cross’ lifted off at dusk from Richmond airfield,
near Sydney, with pilot Charles Kingsford Smith, co-pilot
Charles Ulm, navigator Harold Litchfield, radio operator
Thomas Harrison McWilliams, landing at Wigram airfield,
Christchurch, 14 hours 25 minutes later on September 11.
April 1, 1937 The New Zealand Permanent Airforce, founded
in June 1923, adopts its current title of the Royal New
Zealand Air Force.
April 12, 1937 Frank Whittle successfully bench-tests the
world’s first gas turbine engine designed for aircraft.
Whittle’s patent application in 1930 was before that of
German engineer Hans Pabst von Ohain, whose engine
flew first (in the HE178).
August 27, 1939 The first flight by a turbojet-powered aircraft,
the Heinkel HE178, Germany.
October 14, 1947 First aircraft to successfully travel faster than
the speed of sound: Bell X-1, piloted by Charles E.
“Chuck” Yeager.
August 23, 1977 First significant human-powered aircraft flight,
by the McCready designed Gossamer Condor, piloted by
racing cyclist Bryan Allen.
July 7, 1981 The first crossing of the English Channel by a solar
powered aircraft, the McCready Solar Challenger.
December 23, 1986 Richard Rutan & Jeanna Yeager completed
the first non-stop, unrefuelled flight around the world, in
Voyager, in 9 days 3 mins.
August 21, 1998. First unmanned crossing of the Atlantic;
by an Aerosonde aircraft (at 3 m wingspan and 13.2 kg
takeoff weight, also the smallest).
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Visits to Aircraft Museums
New Zealand has several aircraft museums, for exam-
ple, RNZAF Museum ‘Air Force World’ (Christchurch),
New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum (Wanaka), MOTAT
(Auckland).
Visits would support a unit on flight by showing real
aircraft and extend the topics associated with flight.
Possible pathways into Technology
The collections of aircraft and associated equipment at
air museums provide opportunities for the study of the
development of aircraft and the subsequent develop-
ment of other technologies.
As more became known about aerodynamics and how
to fly aircraft, and as engines, materials and other
systems developed further, aircraft were able to:
• fly faster
• fly higher
• fly further
• be more manoeuvrable
• carry greater loads
• be more fuel-efficient
• become safer and more reliable
• make less noise and have a more comfortable
environment for crew and passengers
• etc.
Many factors enabled these qualities to be achieved,
most being a consequence of having achieved others.
For example, to fly higher aircraft needed more
powerful engines and stronger airframes to handle the
power and increased airspeed, with materials of suffi-
cient strength and low weight and able to retain their
strength at the very low temperatures of high altitudes,
and perhaps also at the very high temperatures of very
high speeds. However, achieving higher altitudes
required developing suitable clothing and life support
systems for pilots at those altitudes. The air at high
altitudes is very cold (e.g. –55°), and is at a low pres-
sure, which means that, although the proportion of
oxygen in the air remains the same, the quantity
available is much less because of the lower density, and
the atmospheric pressure is too low for gas exchange in
the lungs to occur at a sufficient rate. Solutions such as
systems to supply increased concentrations of oxygen
and pressurisation (both cabin pressurisation and use
of pressure suits) were developed.
Using some of these developments in the technology
curriculum could lead to such topics and contexts as:
◆ Development of engines
Examine the types of engines, the cruise power devel-
oped, power to weight ratio, fuel consumption,
efficiency, materials and processes used and the limita-
tions at each stage of development. Note the many
types of piston (reciprocating) engines. Rotary en-
gines, where the radially arranged engine cylinders and
crankcase rotated with the propeller, were light (as
they needed no flywheel) and gave sufficient cooling,
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
but the gyroscopic effect of the rotating mass limited
their size. Heat dissipation is a major challenge with
any engine – if it is only 25% efficient then 75% of the
energy from burning the fuel has to be dissipated
sufficiently rapidly to prevent engine damage. Radial
engines, having all cylinders exposed to the airflow,
and with better materials, casting and machining
techniques, had good heat dissipation but their large
frontal area gave more drag. Liquid cooling allowed an
in-line cylinder arrangement and better cooling, but
required coolant, pumps, radiators, etc.
Note the qualities of engines on display, in particular:
• Weight (1kg = 2.205 lb; to convert pounds to kg,
multiply pounds by 0.45)
• Power (1 kW = 1.34 hp; to convert horsepower to
kW multiply by 0.746)
• Power to weight ratios of engines from early
engines to modern jets
• Fuel consumption per hour (1 litre = 0.22 Imp.
gallons, 0.24 US gals; 1 Imp. gallon = 4.546 litres;
1 US gallon = 4.228 litres)
• How piston engines were provided with sufficient
air at high altitudes.
It would be useful to relate these factors to the year of
introduction of each engine. Note the shape and
development of propellers; they are really rotating
wings and provide thrust by a forward lift component.
Remembering that lift is proportional to angle of
attack and to airspeed, why does a propeller blade have
a greater ‘twist’ at the hub than at the tip? (The effec-
tive angle of attack changes along the radius because
the speed varies over the radius.) Efficient propellers
allow engine power to be transferred to thrust with
least loss, aided by being able to adjust the pitch of the
blades during flight to maintain efficiency at all speeds.
The jet engine enabled greater power at higher speeds
and their development furthered airframe design,
which had become limited as piston engines reached
their peak of development.
Note the major sections of a jet engine: a compressor to
suck air in and increase its pressure and temperature at
the inlet; combustion chambers where fuel (usually
kerosene) is injected as a mist and burned to heat the
air (although the air volume increases with heating it is
allowed to remain at a constant pressure so the heated
air rushes out the exhaust at a higher speed); a turbine
to extract some of the energy in the exhaust to drive
the compressor. Note the similarity to the operating
stages in a four-stroke reciprocating (piston) engine,
summarised as: intake, compression, ignition, exhaust;
or: ‘suck, squeeze, bang, blow’.
Jet engines increase the momentum of the air. Thrust
(in newtons) is the mass flow rate of air into the jet
engine (kg sec -1) multiplied by the velocity of air
(m sec -1) leaving it. It is therefore important that the
heat energy in a jet engine is used to make air leave the
engine at a high velocity, rather than a high pressure
(think of the change of momentum).
55
Technological areas: Materials, Structures and Mecha-
nisms; Contexts: Industrial, Energy, Personal (sport
flying is very strong in New Zealand).
◆ Development of airframe materials
Early aircraft used ‘natural’ materials, such as bamboo,
wood, linen fabric. Aircraft now use a wide range of
metal alloys and, more recently, composite materials
such as fibreglass and carbon fibre, both very strong
for their weight.
Relate the structural materials to the aircraft perform-
ance and load carrying ability (note the ratio of the
fuelled aircraft weight and the payload of people or
‘stores’ it was able to carry).
List the materials used over the years of the aircraft on
display and apparent methods of joining; e.g. cloth:
sewing; wood: glued, screwed, bolted; metal (speci-
fied): riveted, bolted, welded, etc.
At extremely high speeds the heating of the aircraft by
air friction requires materials light in weight and able
to retain their strength at high temperatures.
Technological areas: Materials, Structures and Mecha-
nisms; Production and Process; Contexts: Industrial.
◆ Development of aircraft shapes
Early aircraft had open structures, with a framework
braced by wires – hang-gliders today still have a similar
structure. Later aircraft had enclosed structures where
the covering also contributed considerable strength as
well as reducing the drag by making more streamlined
shapes (see page 14). Aerofoils also developed further;
compare the thin, sharp-edged aerofoils of early
aircraft with the thicker and more rounded leading-
edge aerofoil of later aircraft. The rounded edge allows
a wider range of angles of attack before the wing
‘stalls’. Note the sharper-edged aerofoils on high-speed
jet aircraft, where conditions are different.
Aircraft near the speed of sound benefit from swept-
back wings. On fighter aircraft a small wingspan also
helps an aircraft to roll quickly, contributing to its
manoeuvrability, and enables a stronger wing structure.
Most aircraft carry their loads internally as they remain
for the duration of the flight, but combat aircraft often
carry their loads externally as they are jettisoned
during flight. If the museum collection has combat
aircraft, note the position of bombs and other loads
such as external fuel tanks. Look at the aircraft side-on
and note their positions, in particular estimating their
centres of gravity. Why are they located in those posi-
tions? (Clue: think of the centre of gravity of the
aircraft and what the effect on stability would be when
loads were jettisoned if they were not attached with
their centres of gravity close to the centre of gravity of
the aircraft.)
Relate the aircraft structures and shapes to their
performances, such as speed, rate of climb, maximum
altitude or ceiling. Look especially at the thickness of
the wings, the shape of the aerofoil (wing section),
wing area, shape of the wings, fuselage shape and cross-
sectional area, etc.
56
Technological areas: Materials, Structures and Mecha-
nisms; Production and Process; Contexts: Industrial,
Energy (more efficient use of energy).
◆ Development of aircrew clothing
As aircraft flew higher so it became more necessary for
pilots to be protected from the decreasing tempera-
tures with increasing altitude (e.g. in ‘standard’
conditions at 4000m it is –11°C; at 10,000m it is –50°C).
Although aircrew were in enclosed cockpits, warm
clothing is still required in combat aircraft especially.
An enclosed cabin can be heated by waste heat from an
engine or by a separate heater. Note that gliders can fly
at high altitudes (in excess of 10,000 m) and pilots
need warm clothing (there’s no heating!) and oxygen.
For combat aircraft there are additional hazards of
damage and fire and of having to eject and parachute
from a damaged aircraft and to be protected during
descent from high altitudes in the cold and thin air.
Examine clothing on display, especially where the
development of aircrew clothing is shown, and note
the changes in style and in materials. What needs or
opportunities may have driven the changes?
Look at the range of rescue systems which were devel-
oped, from parachutes to life-jackets and life-rafts.
Life-rafts needed to be equipped with items to enable
aircrew to survive long enough to be rescued, and also
included locating beacons, etc. Passenger aircraft still
carry life jackets and life-rafts, often with locator
beacons and saltwater powered lights, etc.
Technological areas: Materials, Structures and Mecha-
nisms, Production and Process; Contexts: Personal.
◆ Development of life-support systems
As aircraft flew faster and higher, the aircrew needed to
be provided with oxygen supplies and protected from
the effects of high forces on their bodies, which could
drain blood from the brain and cause blackouts, etc.
Pressure suits were developed to counteract effects of
high forces (e.g. to prevent blood pooling in the lower
limbs during high downward forces) and to allow
efficient gas exchange in the lungs by providing air
with increased oxygen content and/or at a higher
pressure than the surrounding air at high altitude.
Technological areas: Structures and Mechanisms; Produc-
tion and Process; Electronics and Control; Contexts:
Personal, Industry.
◆ Navigation and flight instruments
As aircraft flew higher, further and faster, it was obvi-
ously important to know what your aircraft was doing,
as human senses are not sufficiently reliable, and your
location, especially when in cloud or at night or over
featureless areas such as oceans. As strong winds could
affect the flight path and weather changes could affect
visibility for landing, knowing your precise location
and altitude were essential.
Note the instrumentation and navigation systems used.
Technological areas: Structures and Mechanisms; Elec-
tronics and Control; Contexts: Personal, Recreational
(many pilots in NZ fly only for recreation).
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
Human performance and flight
Introduction
With full-size aircraft, the aircraft itself is only one
element of what is obviously a human-machine system.
Unfortunately, the human element of this system is
responsible for about three-quarters of all aircraft
accidents. A unit on flight should also include consid-
eration of some of the human factors affecting flight
and safety.
Flight can expose people to widely and quickly varying
conditions and to forces not normally experienced to
that degree in life on the surface of the earth.
The atmosphere varies in density and temperature with
increasing altitude and conditions can quickly become
too extreme to exist unless systems are provided to
keep the person within the range of conditions neces-
sary for normal functioning. Impairment of function
results in impaired judgement, a situation to be recog-
nised and avoided. There are many regulations
governing what aircrew may or may not do, how much
rest they must have, limits on beverages and medica-
tion, etc., and based on knowledge from identifying
causes of accidents. All aircraft accidents are investi-
gated, not to apportion blame, but primarily to learn
what could be done to prevent further accidents from
that cause. Aircraft regulations are written from often
harsh experience!
There are many human factors to be considered, from
physical to psychological. This is merely a brief and
simple introduction. For more information refer to the
books listed in the bibliography. In addition to the
insights into technological practice that this aspect of
flight adds to the study, it also provides useful applica-
tions for elements of the biological sciences especially.
Hawkins (in ‘Human factors in flight’) refers to the
‘SHEL’ model, named from components of the hu-
man–machine system:
The person is the ‘Liveware’ component, at the hub of
the SHEL components and interacts with them. Some
‘liveware’ elements are: physical size and shape, food
and oxygen requirements, sensing of information,
processing information, controlling movements,
communication, and environmental tolerances.
The Interfaces in the SHEL model are listed below; for
each the key aspect is the interface between the
liveware and each of the SHEL elements considered.
• Software: the non-physical elements, e.g. procedures,
checklist layout, symbols, computer displays, etc.
• Hardware: ranging from seating to designing instru-
ments so they can be read easily, quickly and
accurately.
• Environment: providing systems or an internal aircraft
environment which give protection from or counter-
act some hazards of flight at high speeds and at high
altitudes: cold, lack of air pressure, noise, acceleration
(g) loads, ozone and radiation at high altitudes, etc.
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
• Liveware: Flying is often a team effort, especially on
large passenger aircraft, and team-work, leadership,
cooperation, communication, etc., are very important.
Recognition of errors and possible risks can be consid-
ered under each of these interfaces.
Selected elements matching curriculum
aspects
These are largely elements of human biology as,
although risk management is an important element of
technological practice, the depth required in a flight
unit is beyond that required at the target Years 7–10
levels. Teachers of senior technology or science units
are likely to require detail beyond that given here.
Providing oxygen
We need oxygen for the process of respiration (libera-
tion of energy from food). Changes of gas pressure
with changes in altitude affect the ability of the lungs
to extract oxygen from the air and the ability of the
blood to transport gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide).
For the lungs to extract the necessary quantity of
oxygen from the air the pressure has to be sufficient to
maintain the required rate of gas exchange. Although
the proportion of oxygen in the air remains constant at
about 21%, the decrease in pressure with increasing
altitude means that the density is lower and therefore
the actual quantity of oxygen in a volume of air is less.
At 18000 feet (5486m) the atmospheric pressure is half
that at sea level (and therefore only half the volume of
oxygen is available) and as the rate of oxygen uptake
depends on the pressure of oxygen, it will be much
reduced. A person who is used to living at sea level
would not be able to maintain normal judgement and
concentration above 14000 feet (4267 m) and may
quickly collapse at 18000 feet (5486m). Hypoxia is the
condition of insufficient oxygen to meet the needs of
the body. It can appear gradually as altitude increases,
shown by impaired judgement and reasoning, slower
reactions, lack of coordination, diminished sensitivity
of the senses (especially sight and hearing), and
memory impairment. It is obviously an extremely
dangerous condition for a pilot and its gradual onset
can mean it can be unnoticed until too late. Depend-
ing on the person some symptoms can appear as low as
6000 feet (1830m), and for everyone night vision is
impaired from 5000 feet (1524m). High-flying passenger
aircraft are usually pressurised to the equivalent of 8200
feet (2500m) altitude (hence the ‘ear popping’ after
takeoff and before landing at low altitude airports).
At high altitudes the results of a loss of pressure or
oxygen supply in an aircraft can appear very quickly:
the time of useful consciousness after a loss of oxygen
supply for a ‘normal’ healthy individual is 1–2 minutes
at 30000 feet and 3–10 minutes at 25000 feet (7620 m).
57
Note the importance of knowing what to do in the
event of a cabin depressurisation – those safety demon-
strations at the beginning of each flight are important!
Cabin pressurisation or an oxygen supply is required
for prolonged flight above 10000 feet (3048 m). If a
pilot is breathing pure oxygen (non-pressurised) the
highest altitude for continuous flight is 34000 feet
(10363m), where the partial pressure of 100% oxygen
in the lungs would be the same as that experienced by
a person breathing air at sea level.
Effects of reduced pressure
The decrease of pressure with increasing altitude
means that any gas trapped in body cavities will expand
(normally the pressure of gas inside the body is about
equal to that outside it). This can lead to pain in the
abdomen from a distended stomach, intestine or
bowel, and pain in the middle air and sinuses if air is
unable to be escape from those cavities. At very low
pressures, especially if there is a rapid ascent, nitrogen
dissolved in body fluids will escape leading to symp-
toms of ‘the bends’, such as pain in joints and lungs.
(As an activity, identify the passages used to equalise
pressures on each side of the ear drum.)
Effects of acceleration
Aircraft can often experience high levels of accelera-
tion (‘g’ forces, defined as the ratio of the applied
acceleration to gravity, i.e. G = acceleration/gravity).
For example, if the force is downward (as when an
aircraft ‘pulls-out’ from a dive or turns quickly) blood
can be forced from the head resulting in a progressive
loss of vision and eventually of consciousness if the
force is sustained at a sufficient level.
The need for good eyesight
Flight occurs in three dimensions (unlike travel in a
car) and good vision and spatial perception are essen-
tial. Visual acuity can be affected by the light level, the
size, shape, colour, distance, and relative speed of an
object, and by the clarity of the atmosphere (dust,
smoke, haze, water droplets, will reduce clarity). Age
affects sensitivity, especially in dim light, and visual
acuity, as the lens yellows and loses flexibility with age,
affecting focus distance and speed of focusing, impor-
tant when reading instruments and checking traffic.
We perceive objects by the contrast of their outlines
against their background, and judge an object’s size by
comparison with nearby objects. Depth perception
usually requires both eyes (binocular vision). Because
an aircraft is moving in three dimensions a pilot needs
a reference, usually the horizon or an instrument, to
avoid disorientation.
The ‘blind spot’ in the eye (where the optic nerve
penetrates the retina) is easily demonstrated, but can
be of importance in an aircraft. If part of the field of
vision of an eye is blocked (by a windshield support for
example) another aircraft may be in the blind spot
position and not be seen.
Flying in cloud obviously provides no reference points,
emphasising the need for instruments. A crude and
simplistic demonstration of ‘white-out’ conditions is to
wear goggles made from two halves of a table tennis
58
ball and try to walk in a straight line across the school
grounds (with suitable supervision of course to prevent
them walking into anything).
The inner ear and disorientation
Pilot disorientation is a major hazard of flying as our
senses are not sufficiently reliable in some of the
conditions which can be experienced in flight, when
instruments must be relied on instead. Our movement
sensors can contribute to disorientation, especially
under ‘g’ forces. We sense movement by the movement
of fluid in the inner ear semicircular canals. As fluid
has a low friction it tends to remain still when the head
moves. Tiny ‘flaps’ in the semicircular canals are bent
by the fluid moving past them and the brain registers
the movement. The inner-ear system works well in
normal life, but in an aircraft it is possible for the fluid
to begin moving and for the pilot to have the aircraft
rotate at the same speed, so there is no relative move-
ment between the fluid and the head. The pilot (if
there is no other reference) then doesn’t realise the
aircraft is in a (usually fatal) spiral descent. This effect
can be simulated to some extent in a smoothly rotating
chair where, if a blindfolded person is rotated gently
for about a minute and then slowed gently, will reach a
point where the chair is still rotating, but they think it is
still because the fluid in their inner ear is rotating at the
same speed.
Semicircular canals
are in three planes
skull
ear drum tube to the nose
when the head or body
‘flap’ in moves, the fluid lags
ampulla of a behind, pushing the
semicircular ‘flap’
canal
fluid-filled head/body
canal movement
nerves
The existence of these canals in three planes can be
inferred from simple demonstrations (but please be
sure to relate the demonstrations to the structure and
function of the semicircular canal system, otherwise it
is degraded to mere entertainment). These demonstra-
tions must be conducted with suitable safety
precautions. If done in a suitable rotating chair (and
an office chair is not suitable) then there must be
people surrounding the chair to catch the person in it
who may involuntarily throw themselves out of it. If, as
suggested below, that a demonstration could be done
standing up, then it must be on a soft smooth surface
and well away from any objects (e.g. on a soft lawn).
If a person stands and is made to rotate with their eyes
shut, then held still by another person, they will feel
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
‘giddy’, and their world appears to rotate when they
open their eyes. If the person holding them still looks
into their eyes they may notice the eyes flick from side
to side as they make that person’s world ‘move’. The
problem is that the brain has two conflicting sources of
data: the fluid in one semicircular is still moving so the
brain is being told that the person is still moving; the
data from the eyes say that they are not moving!
The only semicircular canal affected is the canal in the
plane of rotation (although referring to one canal,
there is one set in each inner ear). To make the fluid
rotate in another canal we need to place it in the plane
of rotation. The fluid in the canal normally registering
sideways rotation can be made to move by a person
spinning around (as before) but with their head held
down. The canal normally in the plane vertically across
the body is now horizontal, so as the person rotates the
fluid will also begin to rotate in this canal. When they
stop rotating and hold their head up the brain will
receive data from the still-moving fluid saying that the
person is cart-wheeling sideways. Their body may
involuntarily try to correct this, and as they are not, the
result is that they may suddenly flip sideways! What
happens if they do this again, but rotate in the other
direction?
What would happen if the same thing was done but the
head held sideways? Try to predict the result first, and
also try to predict what effect the direction of rotation
would have. Do not do this standing up, it must be
done only in a rotating chair as there is the risk that
the person will involuntarily throw themselves back-
wards (why?).
Gravity sensors and the effects of acceleration forces
could also be investigated.
Other elements
Risk management
Flying requires good judgment and in particular good
risk management. This depends on many factors, some
of them being the personality factors of the pilot. (A
pilot’s saying: ‘There are old pilots, there are bold
pilots, but there are no old bold pilots’!) Some factors
can be the impulsiveness of the pilot (making decisions
without considering all factors), a ‘macho’ attitude, a
belief that accidents happen only to other people,
deciding to reach a destination at all costs, lack of
attention to detail, etc.
Other elements contributing to human error can be as
simple as making false assumptions, especially where it
results in pilots ignoring contrary information. With an
aircraft you can’t just stop and park it while you work
out what to do! Risk management requires that a pilot
carefully considers all factors (thinking enough) and
that they do not make assumptions and that all possi-
bilities are checked (thinking correctly). Other factors
such as fatigue and an individual’s emotional state are
also important.
Unambiguous communication is important, and your
students have no doubt played the old game of verbally
passing a message from one person to another (and
The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight
not being allowed to repeat it if one didn’t hear it
clearly) and then comparing the original message with
the message at different stages of the chain. If each
student wrote down the message as they heard it,
causes of errors could perhaps be identified (e.g.
similar sounding words, meaning related to context,
etc.). They could then suggest strategies to avoid errors
in communication and then find out some of the
procedures used by air traffic controllers and by pilots
to avoid errors in communication.
Health issues
Aircrew must be fit and require regular health checks.
Flight at high altitudes reduces the protection from
cosmic radiation given by the atmosphere, and ozone
is present in higher concentration at very high alti-
tudes and must be decomposed to ‘ordinary’ oxygen
before ventilating the cabin of an aircraft.
Passenger comfort
So far, conditions mostly affecting the aircrew have
been considered. Since flight began, the proportion of
passengers to aircrew has been growing. In passenger
aircraft today, it takes only a few crew to transport 400
passengers. As passenger aircraft do not subject their
passengers to strong forces (unless they run into
undetected clear-air turbulence) and the cabin is
pressurised and kept warm, the main factors are jet lag
and perhaps the ill-health of passengers (passenger
death by heart attack while in flight is now sufficient
for aircraft to be equipped with resuscitation equip-
ment). However, passengers are affected by the lower
pressure and humidity.
From a passenger viewpoint, the relationship between
the boiling point of any liquid and air pressure means
that a really hot cup of coffee it not possible on a high-
altitude flight. Cabin pressure is maintained at the
equivalent of 2500 m, so the boiling point of water is
significantly lowered. This is probably beneficial to
safety because if you spill your coffee during air turbu-
lence you are less likely to be scalded.
The air at high altitudes is also very dry because it is
very cold and the amount of water vapour able to be
dissolved in air decreases with temperature. Air is
drawn from outside and compressed and warmed for
ventilation. As it is very dry when it comes in, warming
it increases the amount of water it can then hold, so
water evaporates very quickly from food and from
passenger’s skin. Passengers need a higher liquid
intake to avoid dehydration. The food supplied must
also be selected to avoid it drying out quickly. For
example, a thin slice of bread has a high surface-area
to volume ratio and so would dry very quickly; bread
rolls have a lower surface area to volume ratio and are
protected by a crust. (Why could the air not be humidi-
fied as it circulates through the aircraft? Think weight.)
Passenger safety is obviously very important and
passengers must behave responsibility during flight.
You may wish to spend some time with your classes on
what to take with you on a long flight, how to avoid
dehydration, techniques to reduce jet lag, etc.
59
Index
A
air density 51 performance, measuring 32 plans
air pressure 51 flying a model aircraft canard 41
air temperatures 51 launching 30 delta-winged 39
aircraft museums 55 problems 30 inverted V-tail 43
angle of attack flying in wind 53 large models 45
controlling 11, 13, 25, 29 force 50 low-wing aircraft 40
defined 11 fuselage small, V-tail 37
drag, lift graphs 11 designing 24–25 power
effect on camber 11 joints 28 definition 15, 50
various situations 11 G graph of available power 15
aspect ratio 23 gender issues 4 measuring, model 33
atmosphere, properties 51 gluing 26, 27 powered models 42
B gravity, acceleration due to 50 predictions about flight: model 34
balancing forces 17 problems in model flying 30
H propeller 55
model 29 hang-glider control 17
Bernoulli 9 head-wind 53
R
building instructions 27–28 reflexed wing 16
horsepower 15, 55
bumble bees 52 repairing a model 27
hot-air balloons 6
bungee launching 26, 32 risk management 59
human performance 57
C roll 17
human-powered flight 54
camber 10, 23, 33 I S
canard 16, 42 sandpaper dust warning 27
inner ear 58
centre of gravity/lift scale effect 2, 23, 29
International Standard Atmosphere 51
diagram 17 science or technology? 2
inverted flight (diagram) 11
investigations 18 semicircular canal investigations 58
centre of gravity: model 26, 29 J SHEL interface model 57
class levels 2 jet engine 55 skin friction 14
Concorde 52 justifying flight topic 3 sound, speed of 51
contexts for model 21 K stability 16
control 16 kite, invention 54 stall 12
controls: model 32 diagram 11
L
conversion factors 50 warning vane 11
lateral control 17
curriculum objectives 3 Standard Atmosphere 51
legal definitions of flight 6
curved plate wing 21 swept-back wing 23
life-support systems 56
D lift T
darts, paper, flight 52 at specific glide angle 21 tailplane, designing 25
dates, flight firsts 54 Coefficient of 9 tailwind 53
designing a model aircraft 22–25 definition of 8 technology or science? 2
fuselage 24 generating 9, 10 thrust
wing 26 perpendicular to airflow 10 definition 8
difficulty, levels of 20 proportional to speed, wing area 10 details 15
dihedral 17, 19, 23 summary 13 tools for foam model aircraft 27
domains of knowledge 2 wings 10 V
downwash 14 Lift : Drag ratio (L/D) velocity 50
drag graph 14, 15 viscosity 14
Coefficient of 15 measuring 32 visits, museums 55
definition 8 Lilienthal, Otto 5, 54 vortex lift 52
skin friction 14
M vortices 14
streamlining 14
mass 50 W
E materials for foam aircraft 20, 26 washout (wing) 13
ear 58 measuring flight performance 32 weight
eddies, wind 52 moment arm 25 definition 8, 50
elevators 11, 13
N details for aircraft 13
energy 50 wind effects, eddies 52
navigation 56
engine development 55 windy conditions 53
newton (unit of weight) 13, 50
essential skills 4 wing, designing 23–24, 26
Newton's Second Law 9, 50
eyesight 58 wing loading
F O
definition 13, 50
oxygen supply 57
first flight 5 model, calculating 32
first woman pilot 54 P wing-tip vortices 14
flaps, slots 11 paper aircraft 18 winglet 14
flat-plate wing 21, 23 Pearse, Richard 5 work 15, 50
flight Pénaud, Alphonse 5, 54 Wright brothers 5
and flying 6 pitch 17 Y
extensions, model 34 pitching moment 16
yaw 17

60 The BP Technology Challenge File: Introduction to Flight