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Flight mechanics - The basis 

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Flight mechanics - The basis
 at 
Coursera 
Overview

Duration

7 hours

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Total fee

Free

Mode of learning

Online

Schedule type

Self paced

Difficulty level

Beginner

Official Website

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Credential

Certificate

Flight mechanics - The basis
 at 
Coursera 
Highlights

  • Flexible deadlines Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule 100% online Start instantly and learn at your own schedule
    Use precise and appropriate words to describe an airplane and its motion in the air.
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Flight mechanics - The basis
 at 
Coursera 
Course details

More about this course
  • More than one century after the Wright brothers' first flight, the flight still defy our intuition. You will learn here how to name the different parts of the airplane and how to describe and quantify its geometry. For that, we need now to share a precise vocabulary to describe the airplane's movement and attitude in space, and a refresher on basic general mechanic principles. You will remind how Newton's 2nd law allows you to determine what force must be applied on an apple - or on an airplane, to modify the magnitude and direction of its speed. Coming back on the concepts of kinetic energy and potential energy, you will discover the very useful concept of total height and you will be able to explain how an airplane can quickly exchange speed for altitude, while changes in total height are much slower
  • In the end, you will discover that only a very small number of forces apply on an airplane in flight and that you will be able to classify those that change its energy state and those that modify its trajectory
  • You will discover the concept of load factor and understand why the pilot of a combat aircraft can feel a weight nine-time greater than his actual weight!
  • Finally, we will establish the lift and propulsion equations, that form the basis of flight mechanics, and you will be able to compute the lift and thrust necessary to follow a given trajectory at a given speed.
  • This course is for anybody interested in learning more about how planes work, the physics of flying, or flight mechanics. It will be of particular interest to undergraduate students in aerospace engineering, trainees as well as senior pilots, journalists, and professionals in the aeronautics sector.
  • Although some mathematical formalism may be present sometimes. It is always doubled by sketches, figures, and hands-explanations. So that, anybody can skip the formulas without losing the core understanding of the concepts
  • No apples were harmed in the making of this course.
  • This course is only a foretaste of the mechanics of flight. ISAE-SUPAERO and Eric Poquillon will offer you other courses and the first specialization in autumn 2021
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Flight mechanics - The basis
 at 
Coursera 
Curriculum

Anatomy of the plane

Airplane components

Flight controls

Airplane geometry

Welcome to the course

Glossary/Definiton of terms

Summary

Geometry of an airplane: Practical objective

Quiz Airplane components

Practical evaluation

Week 1Quiz

Vocabulary and Tools

Attitude and speed

Newton's second law/Newton's law

Concept of Energy and Total path flight angle

summary

Summary

Summary

An illustration: Using the Head-Up Display (HUD)

Assessment

Lesson assesment : Newton's law

Energy Quiz

Week 2 Quiz

Basis of flight mechanics

Forces applying on an airplane

Load factor

Load factor experimentation flight

Lift and propulsion equation

Climb and descent

Summary

Lesson assessment

Few questions about Load factor

Week 3 quiz

Introduction

Instructions for answering to math expression questions

Flight mechanics basis - Review of concepts

Positioning the lift vector on a drawing

The good assumptions for the glider during the loop

Expressing speed and load factor

Computing a realistic case

Flight mechanics - The basis
 at 
Coursera 
Admission Process

    Important Dates

    May 25, 2024
    Course Commencement Date

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    Flight mechanics - The basis
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