The central principle encapsulating the role of the throttle and elevator for managing the airplane’s energy can be summed up as follows: coordinated throttle and elevator inputs control the airplane’s energy state. Modifying a popular adage, the principle can be restated as “pitch plus power controls energy state.” This central principle serves to guide a … Read more
An energy-centered approach clarifies the roles of the engine and flight controls beyond the simple “pitch for airspeed and power for altitude” by modeling how throttle and elevator inputs affect the airplane’s total mechanical energy. From an energy perspective, the problem of controlling vertical flight path and airspeed becomes one of handling the airplane’s energy … Read more
The total mechanical energy of an airplane in flight is the sum of its potential energy from altitude and kinetic energy from airspeed. The potential energy is expressed as mgh, and the kinetic energy as ½ mV². Thus, the airplane’s total mechanical energy can be stated as: mgh + ½ mV² Where, m = massg … Read more