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5 Most Common Aircraft Flap Types (Explained by a CFI)

Northstar VFR

When deployed, they increase the wings lift and drag, allowing the airplane to fly safely at slower speeds. When flaps extend, they increase the camber (curvature) of the wing, which boosts the amount of lift the wing generates. At the same time, flaps create extra drag, which helps slow the airplane down.

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Top Ten Tips for Managing Risk

AV Web

( This story originally appeared in Aviation Safety Magazine.) “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it. The same could be said about managing the risk of general aviation. AIRCRAFT The old drag-racing sentimenttheres no replacement for displacementalso rings true in personal aviation.

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Understanding EFBs: What Student Pilots Need to Know Before They Take Off

Flying Magazine

iFly EFB is a full-featured tool available on Android, iOS, and Windows that was developed by Adventure Pilot and was designed with general aviation (which includes the flight school environment) in mind.

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The Most Misunderstood Aerodynamic Concepts

Flight Training Central

Looking at the curvature or camber of a typical general aviation wing, the top has more curvature and thus surface area than the bottom of the wing. Detrimental Drag Drag is the force that resists movement of an aircraft through the air. There are two basic types: parasite drag and induced drag.

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Everything You Need To Know About Ailerons

Pilot Institute

In recent times, composite materials have been introduced for flight controls even in small general aviation aircraft. Fly-by-wire is expensive, so you wont find it on most small general aviation aircraft. The problem is that the aileron can only be deflected to a point after which the drag becomes significant.

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The Role of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation

Pilot Institute

High camber generally promotes more airflow deflection, thanks to something called Bernoullis Principle. This is why the typical airfoil shape has a curved top and a flat bottom, especially in slower-speed general aviation aircraft. Spoilers are panels on the top of wings that pilots can raise to spoil lift and increase drag.

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Don’t Hose the Pilot Behind You

Plane and Pilot

If you just let go of the clamp and let it drag, the cable can loop up and tangle itself into a terrible birds nest on the reel that nobody wants to deal with. For the ground cable, at most pumps you can simply hold the clamp in your hand and pull slowly until you pull past the clicks of the catch mechanism.