Airplanes operate in an environment that is unlike an automobile. Drivers tend to drive with a fairly narrow field of view and focus primarily on forward motion. Beginning pilots tend…
A glide is a basic maneuver in which the airplane loses altitude in a controlled descent with little or no engine power. Forward motion is maintained by gravity pulling the…
When an airplane enters a descent, its attitude changes from level flight to flight with a descent profile. [Figure] In a descent, weight no longer acts solely perpendicular to the…
When an airplane enters a climb, excess lift needs to be developed to overcome the weight or gravity. This requirement to develop more lift results in more induced drag, which…
A turn is initiated by banking the wings in the desired direction of the turn through the pilot’s use of the aileron flight controls. Left aileron flight control pressure causes…
Trim control surfaces are required to offset any constant flight control pressure inputs provided by the pilot. For example, elevator trim is a typical trim in light GA airplanes and…
Straight-and-level flight is flight in which heading and altitude are maintained. The other fundamentals are derived as variations from straight-and-level flight, and the need to form proper and effective skills…
When introducing basic flight maneuvers to a beginning pilot, it is recommended that the “integrated” or “composite” method of flight instruction be used. This means the use of outside references…
An airplane’s attitude is determined by the angular difference between a specific axis and the natural horizon. A false horizon can occur when the natural horizon is obscured or not…
The airplane flies in an environment that allows it to travel up and down as well as left and right. Note that movement up or down depends on the flight…