How to Fly an Airplane! Aerodynamic
Student Notebook

by Yas Wellington

There are 12 Chapters for PPL Notebook
Aerodynamic
Lear how to fly an airplane, and air interaction
Aircraft Systems
Essential of mechanical components to recognize dangers and adjust for it.
Aircraft Instruments
How to read flight instruments and understand hazardus signals
Aircraft Performance
How to avoid dangerous missed take-off and landings | capabilities and limitations induced by weather or weight!
Weather
Understand Weather! Pilot Skills in the Air!
Weather Reports
How to read Meteorological Reports to prepare for flights!
Pilot Licenses
What are the Qualification types and requirements
Flight Regulation & Airspace
Respect Flight Rules governing aviation operations
Flight Enroute
How to plan correctly to avoid wind throwing you off to no-where, or fuel shortages!
Flight Navigation
Direction finding and route planning
Airport Operation
How to deal with Airport Ground procedures and facilities
Communication
How to communicate as a Pilot
Summary
Understanding aerodynamic principles is crucial for safe and efficient flight operations. Key factors include the balance between lift, weight, thrust, and drag, as well as the effects of control surfaces, stability, and maneuvers. Pilots must continuously adjust controls to maintain equilibrium and avoid adverse flight conditions such as stalls and excessive load factors.
1
Balance of Forces
Pilots must maintain equilibrium between lift, weight, thrust, and drag
2
Control Adjustments
Continuous adjustments to control surfaces are necessary for safe flight
3
Avoiding Hazards
Understanding principles helps prevent stalls and excessive load factors
Study Questions
Key aerodynamic concepts every pilot should understand:
Airfoil Principles
  • What is the purpose of an airfoil?
  • How does changing the chord line affect lift?
  • How does angle of attack affect lift?
Drag Forces
  • Explain the difference between parasite drag and induced drag.
Aircraft Control
  • What are the three axes of aircraft rotation?
  • How aircraft turns?
  • How does extending flaps impact landing approach?
Stalls & Load Factors
  • Why does an aircraft stall?
  • What happens to load factor when an aircraft increases bank angle in a turn?
Stability Factors
  • Why is the center of gravity important for flight stability?
Safety Considerations
  • What is wake turbulence, and how can pilots avoid it?
Definitions & Terms
Key aerodynamic concepts every pilot should understand:
1. Airfoil
An airfoil is a structure that produces a useful reaction to air movement.
Examples: Airplane wings, helicopter rotor blades, propellers.
Key Concept: The shape of an airfoil affects lift and drag.
2. Chord Line
The chord line is an imaginary straight line from the leading edge to the trailing edge of an airfoil.
Impact: Changing the shape of an airfoil (e.g., lowering flaps) will change the chord line.
3. Relative Wind
Relative wind is the airflow felt by an airfoil due to movement.
It is parallel and opposite to the flight path of the airfoil.
4. Angle of Attack
The angle between the chord line and the relative wind.
Pilot Control: The angle of attack can be varied using aircraft controls.
How Airplanes Turns?
The FAA or GACA wants to make sure you know how it works, rather than memorizing the names. However, basic names are important: Rudders, Aelerions, Elevators, pitching, banking or rolling, and yawing are terminology that you should use in Aviation.
How Airplanes Turn! The primry Axix
Lateral Axis (Pitch Up/Down) - Controlled by Elevators
Movement: Nose up or down.
Stability: Longitudinal stability.
Longitudinal Axis (Roll Right / Left) - Controlled by Ailerons
Movement: Wing up or down.
Stability: Lateral stability.
Aslo called Banking = Rolling
Vertical Axis (Yaw Right / Lef) - Controlled by Rudder
Movement: Nose left or right.
Stability: Directional stability.
Secondary Controls: Flaps & Trims
Flaps:
Purpose: Increase lift and increase drag when extended.
Allow steeper landing approaches without increasing airspeed.
Trims:
Purpose: similar to Aileron, help reduce pilot workload.
helping maintain level flight without constant pressure on the control yoke, and improves fuel effeciency.
Aircraft Systems In Action

Flaps Are important to make steeper approach for landing, increasing drags and thus lowering the speed
Center of Gravity (CG)
Point of Weight Concentration
The point where all the aircraft's weight is concentrated.
Axes Intersection
The intersection of all three axes of rotation.
Stability Factor
Critical for maintaining proper aircraft balance and control.
Four Forces Acting on an Aircraft
1
1
Lift
Opposes weight, generated by airfoil design.
2
2
Weight
The force of gravity acting downward.
3
3
Thrust
Forward force produced by the engine/propeller.
4
4
Drag
Rearward force resisting motion (includes parasite and induced drag).
Types of Drag:
Parasite Drag
Caused by non-lifting surfaces (e.g., landing gear, antennas, icing formation, ..etc).
Induced Drag
By-product of lift; increases with a higher angle of attack. Used to slow the aircraft by lifting the nose up (pitching up).
Stability of an aircraft is important
A Stable aircraft will require less effort by the pilot
Longitudinal Stability: Affected by the CG position relative to the center of lift.
Positive Static Stability
Tendency to return to original position.
Positive Dynamic Stability
Long-term oscillations return to equilibrium.
Neutral Stability
Aircraft remains in new position after disturbance.
Load Factor: Airplane Feels Heavier with Turn!
In simple terms, the more you roll / bank the airplane, the more you will feel your body is very heavy.
Thus, you need to maintain higher speed when doing such manuaver so the airplane does not stall. In the Diamond, your speed should be about 100 Knm to do steep turn.
Turns > Load Factors Increase > Stalls > Spin
Bank Angle
Increased bank angle increases load factor.
Load Factor (G-Force)
The stress on an aircraft structure due to acceleration.
Stalls
Occur when the angle of attack exceeds the critical angle of attack (~18°-20°).
Spins
Occur after a stall when one wing produces more lift than the other.
STALL
How Does Stall Speed Change!
Stall Speed impacted by Weight, Drag, & Loadfactor
The below video is good to understand but does not need to be memorized. The key information are:
  1. Needs higher speed for more banking as it increase load (weight).
  1. Angel of Attach will remain the same regardless of speed and weight.
Important Maneuvers to Master to Aerodynamic
Pilot will master aerodynamics and wind once become very good at the following manuevers. It help understand how much turn to do in order to correct for wind. Wind would push the airplane closer or further from a point.
Rectangular Course
Used for ground reference training.
Bank angles adjust for wind correction.
Turns Around a Point
Maintaining constant radius requires wind correction. Shallow turns with headwind and steep turn with tailwind/downwind.
S-Turns
Bank angle steepest when turning downwind, and shallow when turnng headwind.
Ground Effect: An amazing phenomona you must be aware of!
Reduced Induced Drag
Allows aircraft to lift off earlier
Extended Float
Aircraft may float longer when landing
One Wingspan
Occurs within one wingspan of ground
Ground effect is a significant aerodynamic phenomenon that occurs when an aircraft flies close to the ground, typically within one wingspan of the surface.
This proximity to the ground disrupts the normal airflow patterns around the wings, particularly affecting the wingtip vortices that contribute to induced drag.
As a result, pilots must be aware that their aircraft may lift off earlier during takeoff or float longer during landing than expected. This effect can be particularly pronounced in low-wing aircraft and can significantly impact landing distance calculations.
Wake Turbulence! be Careful! Avoid it!
1
Prop or Jet Blast
High-speed airflow behind engines.
2
Wingtip Vortices
  • Circular air patterns created by lift, moving outward, upward and inward of wings, in circular motion
  • Strongest when the generating aircraft is heavy, clean, and slow.
  • Avoidance: Fly at or above the preceding aircraft's flight path.
3
Duration
Can persist for several minutes in calm air conditions.
Wake Turbulence: an important Video Content!
Now watch a real scenario of a Cessna cought a wake turbulence
Safety Considerations
1
Avoid Wake Turbulence
Land past the touchdown point of larger aircraft.
Take off before the rotation point of a preceding aircraft.
2
Maintain Proper CG
Ensures longitudinal stability and safe control.
3
Monitor Load Factor
Prevents excessive structural stress and premature stalls.
The End
1
1
Knowledge
Understanding aerodynamic principles
2
2
Application
Applying concepts in flight
3
3
Safety
Ensuring safe flight operations
Thank you for completing this aerodynamic terms student notebook. The concepts covered here form the foundation of safe and efficient flight operations. Remember that understanding these principles is not just academic—it directly impacts your ability to control an aircraft safely in various conditions.