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What Is Bernoulli’s Principle? A Simple Guide for Pilots

Pilot Institute

Airfoils use this principle, with faster airflow over the top creating lower pressure. Bernoullis principle also applies to how carburetors and jet engine inlets work. Jet Engine Inlets Jet engine inlets also rely on Bernoullis principle, although they use it differently than carburetors.

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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

Use of Reflex Airfoils Ever notice how many tailless aircraft have wings that curve at the trailing edge? This type of design is a reflex airfoil. The reflexed shape of the airfoil usually causes a positive (nose-up) pitching moment coefficient at its aerodynamic center. Flying wings dont have tails or elevators.

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Learning Aeronautical Engineering From Historic Aircraft Designs

Vintage Aviation News

From the first days of flying to the evolution of supersonic jets, historic aircraft offer a road map for comprehending the ideas guiding aeronautical engineering. As shown by the Messerschmitt Me 262, the first operational jet fighter in the world, jet propulsion was the most innovative breakthrough of this age. ”

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Flight Test Files: The Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket – Chasing Mach 2

Vintage Aviation News

The jet- and rocket-powered aircraft exceeded expectations, performing better than predicted in high-speed wind tunnel testsparticularly in drag performance above Mach 0.85. Its test flights provided data that shaped the designs of later swept-wing military aircraft, including the Century Series of jet fighters.

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Wingtip Vortices and Wake Turbulence

Pilot Institute

When air flows over the aircraft wing, the shape of the airfoil creates low pressure above the wing and relatively higher pressure below the wing. A small Challenger 604 business jet flying at Flight Level 340 passed one thousand feet below an Airbus A380 flying the same route in the opposite direction. How Are Wingtip Vortices Formed?

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

Pilot Institute

Why do jet pilots talk about speed in terms of Mach number? Jet aircraft often fly at speeds close to the speed of sound. Making the wing relatively flat on top with a blunter leading edge and more curvature on the bottom gives you a supercritical airfoil. Early jet pilots found this out while exploring high-speed jet flight.

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Flight Test Files: Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Vintage Aviation News

One of the standout aircraft in Drydens research history is the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, a legendary Navy fighter jet that played a key role in two major research programs at the center. These glove modifications served to smooth the wing surface and alter the airfoil to achieve specific pressure distributions.