CQUniversity Unit Profile
AVAT12006 Aerodynamics (Commercial Pilot Licence)
Aerodynamics (Commercial Pilot Licence)
All details in this unit profile for AVAT12006 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

Aerodynamics (Commercial Pilot Licence) will provide you with the knowledge of aerodynamics relevant for low altitude, sub-sonic flight in piston engine aircraft. You will cover the aeronautical knowledge requirements of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Commercial Pilot Licence aerodynamics syllabus. You will study the aerodynamic properties of an aerofoil and how it produces lift and drag. You will also study the forces and moments acting on an aeroplane in flight and how these affect an aeroplane's stability and controllability. Normal and abnormal flight characteristics and performance will also be studied.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 2
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 8
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisites: AVAT11002 Basic Aeronautical Knowledge; AVAT11003 Basic Aeronautical Practice; AVAT11005 Aviation Physics and AVAT11007 Flight Planning Performance and Operation-Private Pilot License (PPL).

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 1 - 2022

Brisbane
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Perth

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Written Assessment
Weighting: 20%
2. Online Quiz(zes)
Weighting: 20%
3. Examination
Weighting: 60%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Student feedback

Feedback

Written Assignment. The expectations and best practice regarding the presentation of the assignment could be made more explicit.

Recommendation

Provide guidance on report writing to students in the first-year units.

Feedback from Student feedback

Feedback

Learning resources were sufficient, relevant covering all topics.

Recommendation

Agree and further improvements will be made.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Explain the aerodynamic properties of an aerofoil
  2. Apply the Coanda effect and Bernoulli's theorem to demonstrate and calculate how an aerofoil produces lift and drag
  3. Examine the forces and moments acting on an aircraft in all stages of flight
  4. Discuss the factors that affect stability and control of an aircraft in flight
  5. Determine the performance aspects of power, weight and speed in flight manoeuvres
  6. Explain the factors that affect the stall and spin characteristics of an aeroplane.

N/A. No external accreditation.

Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Written Assessment - 20%
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20%
3 - Examination - 60%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment - 20%
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20%
3 - Examination - 60%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Supplementary

Aerodynamics for the Private and Commercial Pilot Licences

Aviation Theory Centre
Brisbane Brisbane , Queensland , Australia
ISBN: 978-1-875537-83-9
Binding: Paperback

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
Referencing Style

No referencing style set.

Teaching Contacts
Aruna Ranganathan Unit Coordinator
a.ranganathan@cqu.edu.au
Wen-Chun Tseng Unit Coordinator
w.tseng@cqu.edu.au
Will Njagi Unit Coordinator
w.njagi@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 07 Mar 2022

Module/Topic

Introduction. Structure of the atmosphere. Terminology used in aviation aerodynamics.

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 1

Events and Submissions/Topic

None

Week 2 Begin Date: 14 Mar 2022

Module/Topic

Newton's Laws, Bernoulli's Principal. Coanda force. Definitions of airspeed

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 1

Events and Submissions/Topic

None

Week 3 Begin Date: 21 Mar 2022

Module/Topic

Aerodynamic Lift and four principal forces acting on an aircraft. Centre of pressure and pressure distribution around and aerofoil.

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 1

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz 1 opened

Week 4 Begin Date: 28 Mar 2022

Module/Topic

Drag. Different components of Drag, definitions and application to aircraft. Numerical calculations.

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 1

Events and Submissions/Topic

None

Week 5 Begin Date: 04 Apr 2022

Module/Topic

Basic flight controls. Aerodynamic balancing. Flight stability and the basic action of the four main forces on flight, such as pitching. 

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 3 and 5

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz 1 closes

Quiz 2 opened

Vacation Week Begin Date: 11 Apr 2022

Module/Topic

No lectures

Chapter

Review material from first 5 weeks.

Events and Submissions/Topic

None

Week 6 Begin Date: 18 Apr 2022

Module/Topic

Aerodynamics and flight controls of aircraft manoeuvres. Climbing, descending, turning and the advent of stalling.

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 5,6 and 8

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz 2 closes

Quiz 3 opened

Week 7 Begin Date: 25 Apr 2022

Module/Topic

Aerodynamic and control aspects of flight events. The spin, spiral dive, landing and takeoff.

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapters 7 and 8

Events and Submissions/Topic

None

Week 8 Begin Date: 02 May 2022

Module/Topic

The technical and practical aspects of aircraft stability and control. Pitching, rolling and yawing.

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 4

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz 3 closes

Quiz 4 opens

Week 9 Begin Date: 09 May 2022

Module/Topic

Aerodynamic and practical aspects of aircraft stability, measures to alleviate inherent and common problems. Modified control surface design.

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 4

Events and Submissions/Topic

None

Week 10 Begin Date: 16 May 2022

Module/Topic

Wake turbulence. Phenomenon, aerodynamics, extent and avoidance. 

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 7

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz 4 closes

Quiz 5 opens

Week 11 Begin Date: 23 May 2022

Module/Topic

The application and applicability of aerodynamics to flight. From theory to keeping aircraft in the sky.

Chapter

Chapters 1,3 and 8

Events and Submissions/Topic

None


Written Assignment Due: Week 11 Friday (27 May 2022) 12:00 am AEST
Week 12 Begin Date: 30 May 2022

Module/Topic

Review of the material covered in the unit. Highlight of salient points.

Chapter

Aerodynamics: Chapter 1, and 3 to 8

Events and Submissions/Topic

Quiz 5 closes

Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 06 Jun 2022

Module/Topic

Review of past exams and guidance on preparation for final exam 

Chapter

Past exam papers.

Events and Submissions/Topic

None

Exam Week Begin Date: 13 Jun 2022

Module/Topic

Final Exam

Chapter

All chapters covered in the Aerodynamics text plus tutorials and assignment review.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam

Assessment Tasks

1 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Written Assignment

Task Description

Select an aircraft accident pertaining to a any aircraft . This may be anything from a  light aircraft to a commercial airliner.

Ensure that the accident involves an element relating to aerodynamics. For example, loss of control due to stall or spin. As another example, the primary cause of an accident may be due to lack of training or pilot fatigue, which gave rise to a loss of situational awareness after which the aircraft entered a deep stall and crashed. Another cause may be lack of training on a new variant of an aircraft.

Critically analyse the accident. Include in your paper:

· Accident description (what, when, why, etc);

· The aerodynamics and systems factors contributing to this accident;

· The actions or lack of actions by the pilot.

   The safety analysis and recommendations.

If there is limited information available about the accident, you may expression your own opinion but ensure you justify your reasoning.


Assessment Due Date

Week 11 Friday (27 May 2022) 12:00 am AEST

midnight


Return Date to Students

Review/Exam Week Friday (10 June 2022)

via Moodle


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

The paper should be written in a report format with a title page, executive summary, introduction, main body, conclusion / recommendations.

Referencing required is Harvard style.

Number the pages and include a table of contents.

You may add section and sub section numbers and headings.

Use maps and diagrams if appropriate.

Use Arial or Calibri (Body) 11 or 12 font. Remember that presentation is very important

Assessment will be based on evidence of a thorough search of the available literature, the general presentation of the report, clarity of English, spelling, punctuation and correct arrangement of sentences and paragraphs (i.e. well written English). The development of the narration, explanation and the resulting conclusions. 


Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Submit through Moodle

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Explain the aerodynamic properties of an aerofoil
  • Apply the Coanda effect and Bernoulli's theorem to demonstrate and calculate how an aerofoil produces lift and drag
  • Examine the forces and moments acting on an aircraft in all stages of flight
  • Discuss the factors that affect stability and control of an aircraft in flight
  • Determine the performance aspects of power, weight and speed in flight manoeuvres
  • Explain the factors that affect the stall and spin characteristics of an aeroplane.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy

2 Online Quiz(zes)

Assessment Title
There will be 5 online quizzes throughout the term contributing 20% to final assessment. They will be tackled online and be due at approximately 2 week intervals as given in the Moodle site

Task Description

Each quiz consists of 10 questions with 4 possible answers. You must select what you think is the correct solution. These are short questions and answers, for example, Q what gives an aircraft the basic. Lift it needs to fly A (1) the shape of the tailplane A (2) the imbalance of pressure on the upper and lower surfaces of the wings A(3) the inclination of the chord line to the horizontal A(4) the upward angle of the aircraft nose to the vertical.


Number of Quizzes

5


Frequency of Quizzes

Fortnightly


Assessment Due Date

Due dates for each quiz are detailed on Moodle and will be reaffirmed in the Lectures


Return Date to Students

As specified after the closing date for each quiz.


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

This a simple correct or incorrect answer.


Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Apply the Coanda effect and Bernoulli's theorem to demonstrate and calculate how an aerofoil produces lift and drag
  • Explain the factors that affect the stall and spin characteristics of an aeroplane.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking

Examination

Outline
Complete an invigilated examination

Date
During the examination period at a CQUniversity examination centre

Weighting
60%

Length
120 minutes

Minimum mark or grade
50

Exam Conditions
Closed Book

Materials
Dictionary - non-electronic, concise, direct translation only (dictionary must not contain any notes or comments).
Calculator - non-programmable, no text retrieval, silent only
Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?