Aviation Merit Badge Merit Badge Counselor: Lt Col Larry Low Level Lawver 1
The Definition of Aircraft The term aircraft is broad, covering nearly everything that enables people to fly through the air. Some aircraft (balloons, blimps) are lighter than air; others like airplanes and helicopters, are heavier than air. Missiles, rockets, and vehicles like the space-shuttle are called spacecraft since they are designed to fly outside earth s atmosphere. (1a) 2
Types of Aircraft in Use Today Here are some kinds of aircraft: Commercial airliners Cargo airplanes Military bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance aircraft Military supply transports Military and civilian helicopters and gyroplanes Personal use and training airplanes of various types Sailplanes, amphibious aircraft, and seaplanes Blimps used for advertising in the sky and as TV camera platforms Aerobatic airplanes for exhibitions Crop sprayers Firefighting smoke jumper transports and borate bombers (1a) 3
Operation of Piston, Turbojet Engines, and Turboprop Engines Piston engines are internal-combustion engines with a series of pistons that compress a mixture of gasoline and air that explode with a spark to push the pistons that turn the crankshaft smoothly in a continuous motion to turn the propeller and produce thrust. Turbojet engines compress inlet air with rotating fan blades that is mixed with fuel in a combustion chamber where a heat source ignites the mixture producing thrust through the expelling of expanding gases through the exhaust pipe that also turns an aft turbine connected to the compressor up front. Turboprop engines combine the jet propulsion to turn a propeller in addition to the exhaust gas propulsion. (1a) 4
Forces Acting on an Airplane in Flight LIFT THRUST DRAG WEIGHT (1b) 5
Bernouli s Principle The Airfoil Airfoil The top is curved & bottom flat with a slight angle to produce lift by faster air on top Ailerons on trailing edge of the wings to effect turn Elevator on trailing edge of horizontal stabilizer to effect pitch up or down Rudder on trailing edge of vertical stabilizer to effect yaw left or right Propeller - similar to the wing, its shape produces lift as forward thrust from the engine s turning of the crankshaft / propeller (1c) 6
Control Surfaces During Flight AILERONS ELEVATORS RUDDER FLAPS Takeoff : Level Neutral Centered Down Straight Climb: Level Slightly Up Centered Up Level Turn: Right lt down/rt up Slightly Up Slight Right Up Climbing Turn: Left lt up/rt down More Up Slight Left Up Descending Turn: Left - / Slightly Down Slight Left Up Straight Descent: Level Slightly Down Centered Down Landing: As the plane nears the ground, reduce power and ease back on the control wheel to slow the airplane. When the wheels are just above the ground, move the control wheel back further to decrease the speed and touch down on the two main wheels. Then ease the control wheel forward to gently set down the nose gear while reducing the throttle and breaking gently to slow down. (1d) 7
Pilot Certificates Recreational Pilot Certificate: Requires 30 hours of flight instruction (3 hours solo). May carry one passenger in singleengine, land-based airplane and share expenses. Can fly in good visibility up to 50 miles from home airport at 2000 AGL or 10000 ASL, whichever is higher Sport Pilot Certificate: Similar to the above certificate, but for lightsport aircraft in daytime clear visibility only with no possibility of additional ratings. Private Pilot Certificate: Requires 40 hours of flight instruction (10 hours solo), including cross-country experience (trips > 50 miles), night flight, instrument flight, and radio communications. Can fly above 10000 ASL, more than 50 miles from home airport, fly at night an into airspace controlled by air traffic control with one passenger. Instrument Rating: Additional ratings for multi-engine, etc. (1e) 8
Air Navigation Four standard methods of navigation: Pilotage refer from chart to visible landmarks. Dead Reckoning Heading and distance at a set speed for a calculated amount of time from a known position to the planned destination or checkpoint. Radio Navigation ground-based radio navigation aids (VORTAC). Satellite Navigation global positioning system (GPS). 10 minutes (2c&e) 9
Air Navigation (continued) Sectional charts have symbols you can learn from the legend. Select a route of flight that includes a departure airport, an en route airport for a practice approach, and a destination airport with a total distance no more than 150 miles for the trip. Measure a true course from a longitude line for each leg of the trip. Apply magnetic variation from an isogonic line to get a magnetic heading. Measure the distance of each leg. Calculate the time for each leg for a 180 knot (3NM/Min) planned ground speed. 10 minutes (2c&e) 10
Air Navigation (continued) Wind Triangle: 1. Draw true course and ground speed line from leg start point A to way point B. 2. Draw a wind vector pointing to the way point B with velocity length from point C. 3. Draw a true heading from leg start point A to tail of wind vector C. 4. Measure the true heading and true airspeed required to counter the wind to arrive at the way point B. (2c&e) 11
Flight Instruments Attitude Indicator or Artificial Horizon gives the pilot the aircraft s position relative to the horizon for wing bank angle and nose pitch in degrees. The Altimeter shows How high the aircraft is flying based on the barometric pressure obtained from air traffic control or a weather forecast. Heading Indicator is a gyroscope that shows the aircraft s heading. Airspeed Indicator shows the aircraft s speed through the air in nautical miles per hour (knots). (2f&g) 12
Flight Instruments (continued) Turn & Bank Indicator shows when the plane is turning and how well it is coordinated. Kicking the Ball using the rudder pedal will correct a skid or slip by centering the ball between the center scribe lines. The Whiskey Compass shows the magnetic heading, which needs to be adjusted based on wind and magnetic variation. Vertical Velocity Indicator shows the rate of climb or descent in feet per minute. Navigation Display of either GPS or VOR / TAC bearing and distance measuring devices. (2f&g) 13
Flight Instruments (continued) The Tachometer has two purposes: to show whether the propeller is turning at the recommended speed for a maneuver, and whether the engine is operating normally. Oil Temperature is another indicator of engine health. It is usually marked with a green zone for normal operations and a red line for maximum temperature. Oil Pressure should be in the Green indicating normal operating pressure. Dropping pressure in the Yellow zone or less is a sure sign of engine trouble. Communications are usually via VHF or UHF radio using ICAO phonetic alphabet and common aviation terms. (2f&g) 14
How to Build an FPG-9 1. Cut out the paper FPG-9 pattern. Do not cut along the dotted line on the paper pattern. Only cut along the bolded lines. 2. Place the paper pattern in the center of the foam plate ensuring that the tail of the pattern stays inside of the curved portion of the plate bottom. (The tail must remain on the plate s flat bottom.) It s fine if the tab on the front of the pattern is on the curved portion. The ends of the wings should spill over the curved edge of the plate. 3. Trace around the pattern with an ink pen. Don t forget to mark where the scissor slits go. 4. Cut the foam template out by following the pen lines you just drew. 5. Once the instructor has completed the master foam template, the students may use the template to create their FPG-9 planes. 6. Have the students place the foam template in the center of the plate and trace around the template making sure to mark all of the lines. 7. When tracing slits A and B the students only need to make one line. These lines will create the elevons and rudder. 8. Have the students cut out the FPG-9 they just traced by following the pen lines. Important Note At this time cut along the dotted line to separate the tail from the wing of the FPG-9. It works better if you make all of your cuts from the outside of the plate towards the center of the plate. Do not try to turn your scissors to cut sharp corners. When cutting out the slots, make them only as wide as the thickness of the foam plate. If the slots are cut too wide the pieces of the plane will not fit together snuggly. 9. The wing and the tail each have slits drawn on them. Have the students make a cut along each of these lines as drawn. 10. To attach the tail to the wing, slide the slots together. Use two small (2 ) pieces of tape to secure the bottom of the tail to the bottom of the wing. Ensure the tail is perpendicular to the wing before adding the tape. 11. In order to make the plane fly successfully, the students must attach a penny on top of the wing right behind the square tab. Fold the tab back over the penny and tape it down to secure the coin. 12. Bend the elevons on the wing upward. This will provide for a flatter glide. If the students want the plane to turn they can adjust the rudder on the vertical fin. 13. Your FPG-9 is complete and ready to fly. Gently toss the plane directly in front of you. Once it flies reasonably straight ahead and glides well, try throwing it hard with the nose of the glider pointed 30 above the horizon. The FPG-9 should perform a big loop and have enough speed for a glide of 20 25 feet after the loop. (3b) 20 minutes 15
Aviation Facilities Runways are numbered according to the compass heading when lined up on the centerline, i.e., a runway pointing 030 degrees would be Runway 03, or 210 degrees would be Runway 21. Parallel runways are designated Left and Right, i.e., Runway 21L. The runway in use is determined by the wind direction, and are selected for takeoffs and landings into the prevailing wind. The Control Tower provides airport controllers an elevated view of the runway environment to direct air traffic safely on arrival and departure, and during ground operations. They relay clearances, weather updates, and other information to pilots. Terminal Radar Control Facility or Approach/Departure Control provides radar approach and departure services to ensure safe aircraft separation in good and bad weather conditions. They can provide inflight weather advisories, issue directions to keep aircraft properly sequenced with other traffic, and can conduct precision landing approach control. (4a) 16
Careers 1. Airline Pilot Ken Lawver flew DC3 s for United Airlines from 1936-1938 based in Chicago, IL. 2. Military Pilot Ken Lawver returned to the Army Air Corps in 1938 and commanded the Maintenance depot for B-29s on Guam during WWII. He would test fly repaired aircraft and certify them ready for combat. Col Ken Lawver (5)
Careers 3. Aerial Photographer - Lynn Doc Lawver took Pictures of real-estate properties to run in displays at shopping malls in Tucson, AZ. (5) 18
Careers 4. Air Force Navigator / F4-E Weapon Systems Officer Larry Lawver was commissioned a 2Lt In 1975 through AFROTC. He trained as a navigator and WSO in California. He flew combat training missions for nuclear strike, conventional attack, and air-to-air combat in Europe. In Iceland he flew strategic air defense intercepting 14 pairs of Russian bombers. He flew 3 years in North Carolina, then served in war plans staff positions. He finished in the EC-130. USAF Air Medal (5) 19
Questions? 20