Teaching
I tried teaching the cat that lives in my house the Vg diagram, with no luck. Then I tried forces acting on an airplane in a turn. Same result. It just slept.
It was a real confidence booster.
After a dismal performance at the whiteboard in class yesterday trying to explain the four left-turning forces (torque, precession, corkscrew effect and P-factor) I decided I needed to get some extra studying in and also work on my presentation.
So I picked up a medium-sized whiteboard and started teaching aerodynamics to the cat. I figure if I can teach aerodynamics to a cat a student should have no trouble following along.
It's amazing how quickly I forget things. I was totally prepared to teach the Vg diagram yesterday but it took me a few minutes to shift gears and stumble through teaching the forces acting on an airplane in a turn.
As for the four left-turning forces, well, I hadn't studied those since primary training and had to look them up. Torque and P-factor are simple enough to explain. Precession is a little harder but the corkscrew effect had me stumped.
Sure, the slipstream spirals around the fuselage and strikes the left side of the tail, pushing the airplane to the left. But why? Why doesn't it spiral in the other direction and push the tail to the right? I haven't a clue.
Everybody says you learn a ton about flying by teaching it and I have to agree. We haven't even gotten into the airplane yet and I'm learning more than I ever wanted to know.
It was a real confidence booster.
After a dismal performance at the whiteboard in class yesterday trying to explain the four left-turning forces (torque, precession, corkscrew effect and P-factor) I decided I needed to get some extra studying in and also work on my presentation.
So I picked up a medium-sized whiteboard and started teaching aerodynamics to the cat. I figure if I can teach aerodynamics to a cat a student should have no trouble following along.
It's amazing how quickly I forget things. I was totally prepared to teach the Vg diagram yesterday but it took me a few minutes to shift gears and stumble through teaching the forces acting on an airplane in a turn.
As for the four left-turning forces, well, I hadn't studied those since primary training and had to look them up. Torque and P-factor are simple enough to explain. Precession is a little harder but the corkscrew effect had me stumped.
Sure, the slipstream spirals around the fuselage and strikes the left side of the tail, pushing the airplane to the left. But why? Why doesn't it spiral in the other direction and push the tail to the right? I haven't a clue.
Everybody says you learn a ton about flying by teaching it and I have to agree. We haven't even gotten into the airplane yet and I'm learning more than I ever wanted to know.
posted by Will at 12:54 PM
3 Comments:
Vg diagram for the cat:
Define useful terms:
Load factor -- how much cat weighs when trying to be dislodged from favorite chair. Some cats have aerobatic limits - 6g, depending on comfort level of chair.
Stall speed -- how long to delay when standing in front of an open door, or slowest speed at which cat can go through door without getting it slammed in his face.
Va -- this is the speed at which cat can safely stroll through the open door without getting it slammed in his face. Exceeding Va may result in spending unknown amounts of time on the wrong side of the closed door.
Vno -- This is the upper limit of the area of normal operations - eating, sleeping, etc. Exceeding this limit brings you into the caution range, where you will likely attract the attention of cat's owner. Only operate in the caution range when owner is very relaxed and comfortable.
Vne -- This is when cat exceeds the caution range and now traverses into the "dire danger" range. During certification process, Vne is determined by scratching on the new couch and observing consequences.
Negative load factor -- This is the result of exceeding Vne by scratching on the new couch. Negative g's will be experienced as cat goes flying through the air.
Vg diagram for the cat:
Define useful terms:
Load factor -- how much cat weighs when trying to be dislodged from favorite chair. Some cats have aerobatic limits - 6g, depending on comfort level of chair.
Stall speed -- how long to delay when standing in front of an open door, or slowest speed at which cat can go through door without getting it slammed in his face.
Va -- this is the speed at which cat can safely stroll through the open door without getting it slammed in his face. Exceeding Va may result in spending unknown amounts of time on the wrong side of the closed door.
Vno -- This is the upper limit of the area of normal operations - eating, sleeping, etc. Exceeding this limit brings you into the caution range, where you will likely attract the attention of cat's owner. Only operate in the caution range when owner is very relaxed and comfortable.
Vne -- This is when cat exceeds the caution range and now traverses into the "dire danger" range. During certification process, Vne is determined by scratching on the new couch and observing consequences.
Negative load factor -- This is the result of exceeding Vne by scratching on the new couch. Negative g's will be experienced as cat goes flying through the air.
Don't forget Vhb: The velocity of a hairball ejected from said cat onto a rug.
The velocity increases as the square of the expense of the rug.
Interestingly, Vhb doesn't apply to hardwood floors or any other surface that is easy to clean.
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