BA6 - Fundamentals of Flight Mechanics

In the module "Fundamentals of Flight Mechanics", students acquire the basic aeronautical knowledge for assessing and calculating the flight performance of an aerodynamically supported, conventional aeroplane. This includes the following contents in detail:

• Students get an overview of the goals and tasks of flight mechanics, the classification of the field into the disciplines of aeronautical engineering and the importance of flight mechanics in the effect loops of flight control.
• Students are familiarized with basic model ideas
  • the environment in which the aircraft is moving (e.g. atmosphere),
    of the aerodynamic forces acting on the aircraft,
  • their formation and their interrelationships (e.g. aircraft polars) and
  • the propulsion force and its dependence on the flight condition for the most important idealised propulsion types.
• Students learn the basic equations for the most important reference flight conditions (e.g. glide flight, horizontal straight flight, climb flight, horizontal curve flight) with regard to the assessment of the point performance of the aircraft. Students are introduced to various analytical calculation methods of flight performance calculation, such as..:
  • Determination of the optimum speed,
  • Calculation of the best glide,
  • Determination of minimum and maximum airspeed,
  • Calculation of engine power requirements for different flight conditions,
  • Determination of the maximum flight altitude,
    Determination of the climbing performance (fastest or steepest climb),
  • Limitations of cornering ability (load factor, maximum lift, engine power),
    Determination of the minimum curve radius and the minimum course change time.
• Based on the discussion of the scores, students are familiarized with the concept of the flight range and the interpretation of the height-machine diagram. The students learn the underlying principles to define the flight range limits qualitatively.
• Students receive an introduction to a selected, advanced field of knowledge in flight mechanics. In this context, students acquire knowledge of
  • Flight performance considerations for flight segments, such as take-off, landing, cross country flight, acceleration flight, climb flight;
    or
  • Questions of static stability and controllability of the aircraft. To this end, the concept of the aerodynamic moment, in particular the pitching moment and its occurrence (contribution of the tailplane) is introduced.