Remove Airfoil Remove Indicated Airspeed Remove Lift
article thumbnail

Mach Number Explained: What It Is and Why Pilots Use It

Pilot Institute

Why don’t they use Indicated Airspeed just like the pilots who fly slower aircraft? Key Takeaways Mach number is a dimensionless ratio of true airspeed to local speed of sound. That’s the speed your airspeed indicator shows based on ram air pressure in the pitot tube. Here’s why. roughly) up to about Mach 5.0.

article thumbnail

Mastering Stalls: How to Recognize, Prevent, and Recover Safely

Flight Training Central

Depending on design, airfoils used in general aviation, stall at angles of attack between 16 to 18 degrees. If the bank increases, the loss of vertical lift component tends to lower the nose. The main factors which determine the angle of attack of a wing are, airspeed, weight, and load factor.

article thumbnail

Air pressure and density

Professional Pilot

However, they underestimated their climb from the lift off point and, with the sluggish rate of climb, the saddle ridge across the departure path suddenly became a dangerous obstacle they might not clear. Every pilot knows that aircraft fly because the forces of lift and thrust balance or exceed the weight and drag countering them.