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Instrument Flying Handbook Menu>Aerodynamic
Factors>Review
of Basic Aerodynamics>The Four Forces
The four basic forces acting upon an aircraft
in flight are: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. The aerodynamic
forces produced by the wing create lift. A byproduct of lift
is induced drag. Induced drag combined with parasite drag (which
is the sum of form drag, skin friction, and interference drag)
produce the total drag on the aircraft. Thrust must equal total
drag in order to maintain speed.
Lift must overcome the total weight of the
aircraft, which is comprised of the actual weight of the aircraft
plus the taildown force used to control the aircraft’s
pitch attitude. Understanding how the aircraft’s thrust/drag
and lift/weight relationships affect its flightpath and airspeed
is essential to proper interpretation of the aircraft’s
instruments, and to making proper control inputs.
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