What is high angle of attack?

Angle of Attack is used to define the angle between the wing chord line and the flight path. This is not to be confused with the relation of the aircraft to the Earth’s surface. When the angle is large, the aircraft is said to be at a high angle of attack.

Can angle of attack zero?

When the angle of attack on an aerofoil is measured relative to the zero-lift axis it is true to say the lift coefficient is zero when the angle of attack is zero. For this reason, on a cambered aerofoil the zero-lift line is better than the chord line when describing the angle of attack.

What is the angle of attack of an aircraft?

The angle of attack is the angle between the chord line of the wing and the vector representing the relative motion between the aircraft direction of movement and the air direction of movement.

Which is the reference line for the angle of attack?

Angle of attack (AOA) is the angle between the oncoming air or relative wind and a reference line on the airplane or wing. Sometimes, the reference line is a line connect- ing the leading edge and trailing edge at some average point on the wing. Most commercial jet airplanes use the fuselage centerline or longitudinal axis as the reference line.

How does the angle of attack affect the airspeed?

The airspeed at which the aircraft stalls varies with the weight of the aircraft, the load factor, the center of gravity of the aircraft and other factors. However, the aircraft always stalls at the same critical angle of attack.

What happens to drag at low angle of attack?

At low angles of attack, the airflow over the top of the wing flows smoothly and produces lift with a relatively small amount of drag. As the AOA increases, both lift and drag increase; however, above a wing’s critical AOA, the flow of air separates from the upper surface and backfills, burbles and eddies, which reduces lift and increases drag.

How does a pilot change the angle of attack?

The easiest way for a pilot to control angle of attack is by reducing or increasing backpressure on the control wheel. Increased angle of attack translates into additional lift but not forever. Increase the angle of attack too much and air stops flowing smoothly across the wing, lift evaporates and the airfoil stalls.

What is trimmed angle of attack?

The trimmed angle of attack corresponds to a definite airspeed (assuming constant load). Configuration changes (flap extension, power changes etc.) have side-effects on the trim speed. In a turn, the load factor increases. In order to maintain its trimmed angle of attack, the airplane pitches down and speeds up.

What is the stall angle of attack?

The stall is always a function of the angle of attack and a straight wing will usually stall at an angle of around 16 – 17 degrees. Further increases in the angle of attack beyond the stalling angle will result in a further reduction of lift.

Where is the angle of attack on an airfoil?

As a wing moves through the air, the airfoil is inclined to the flight direction at an angle. The angle between the chord line and the flight direction is called the angle of attack and has a large effect on the drag generated by the wing.