Introduction to Aircrafts History of aviation; Atmosphere and its properties; Classification of aircrafts; Basic components of an aircraft; structural members; aircraft axis system; aircraft motions; control surfaces and high lift devices; classification of aircraft; conventional design configurations; principle of operation of each major part; Helicopters, their parts and functions.
Aircraft Structures and Materials: Introduction; general types of construction; monocoque, semimonocoque and geodesic structures; typical wing and fuselage structure; metallic and non-metallic materials for aircraft application.
Basic principles of flight – significance of speed of sound; airspeed and groundspeed; standard atmosphere; Bernoulli’s theorem and its application for generation of lift and measurement of airspeed; forces over wing section, aerofoil nomenclature, pressure distribution over a wing section. Lift and drag components – generation of lift and drag; lift curve, drag curve, types of drag, factors affecting lift and drag; centre of pressure and its significance; aerodynamic centre, aspect ratio, Mach number and supersonic flight effects; simple problems on lift and drag.
Aircraft Propulsion:
Aircraft power plants, classification based on power plant and location and principle of operation. Turboprop, turbojet and turbofan engines; ramjets and scramjets; performance characteristics. Aircraft power plants – basic principles of piston, turboprop and jet engines; Brayton cycle and its application to gas turbine engines; use of propellers and jets for production of thrust; comparative merits and limitations of different types of propulsion engines; principle of thrust augmentation.
Aircraft Stability:
Forces on an aircraft in flight; static and dynamic stability; longitudinal, lateral and roll stability; necessary conditions for longitudinal stability; basics of aircraft control systems. Effect of flaps and stats on lift, control tabs, stalling, gliding, landing, turning, aircraft manoeuvres; stalling, gliding, turning. Simple problems on these. Performance of aircraft – power curves, maximum and minimum speeds for horizontal flight at a given altitude; effect of changes in engine power and altitude on performance; correct and incorrect angles of bank; aerobatics, inverted manoeuvre, manoeuvrability. Simple problems.
Aircraft Systems:
Mechanical systems and their components; hydraulic and pneumatic systems; oxygen System; environmental Control System; fuel system. Electrical systems, flight deck and cockpit systems; navigation system, communication system.
Aircraft systems (Mechanical) – hydraulic and pneumatic systems and their applications; environment control system; fuel system, oxygen system.
Aircraft systems (Electrical) – flight control system, cockpit instrumentation and displays; communication systems; navigation systems; power generation systems – engine driven alternators, auxiliary power Module, ram air turbine; power conversion, distribution and management.