Overview
This unit will provide you with the knowledge of aerodynamics relevant for low altitude, sub-sonic flight in piston engine aircraft and the knowledge of small commercial aircraft power plants and systems. You will cover the aeronautical knowledge requirements of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Commercial Pilot Licence aerodynamics as well as the General Aeronautical Knowledge 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. Topics you will study in depth include piston engine power plants and propellers. You will learn about aircraft electrical and hydraulic systems, fuel systems, and ice and rain protection systems. You will also become familiar with flight and navigation instruments.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Students must meet all requisites: 1. AVAT11002 Basic Aeronautical Knowledge OR (AVAT11012 Aviation Practice AND AVAT11013 Introduction to Aviation); AND 2. AVAT11005 Flight Fundamentals; AND 3. AVAT11010 Aviation Safety Fundamentals OR AVAT11007 Flight Planning, Performance, and Operation.
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 - 2023
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).
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
Assessment Overview
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.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
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 Lecture and email
Require more worked examples
Add more worked examples and discuss them in tutorials.
- 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 the stability and control of an aircraft in flight
- Determine the performance aspects of power, weight, and speed in flight maneuvers
- Explain the factors that affect the stall and spin characteristics of an aeroplane.
N/A. No external accreditation.
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 | ||||||
Textbooks
Aerodynamics for Private and Commercial Pilots Licences
Edition: first (2015)
Authors: David Robson
Aviation Theory Centre
Australia
ISBN: 978-1-8755-37-83-9
Binding: Paperback
Flight Physics
(2002)
Authors: E Torenbeek and H. Wittenberg
Springer
London London , United Kingdom
ISBN: 978-1-4020-8663-2 and e-978-1-4020-8664-9
Binding: Hardcover
Additional Textbook Information
This supplementary textbook is available in the library as an e-book.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.ranganathan@cqu.edu.au
w.njagi@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction. Structure of the atmosphere. Terminology used in aviation aerodynamics.
Chapter
Aerodynamics: Chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Newton's Laws, Bernoulli's Principal. Coanda force. Definitions of airspeed
Chapter
Aerodynamics: Chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
None
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
Module/Topic
Drag. Different components of Drag, definitions and application to aircraft. Numerical calculations.
Chapter
Aerodynamics: Chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
None
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
Module/Topic
No lectures
Chapter
Review material from first 5 weeks.
Events and Submissions/Topic
None
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
Written Assignment Due: Week 6 Monday (17 Apr 2023) 11:45 pm AEST
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
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
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
Module/Topic
Wake turbulence. Phenomenon, aerodynamics, extent and avoidance.
Chapter
Aerodynamics: Chapter 7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 4 closes
Quiz 5 opens
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
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
Module/Topic
Review of past exams and guidance on preparation for final exam
Chapter
Past exam papers.
Events and Submissions/Topic
None
Module/Topic
Final Exam
Chapter
All chapters covered in the Aerodynamics text plus tutorials and assignment review.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam
Will Njagi is the Lecturer for this unit and can be contacted at w.njagi@cqu.edu.au.
Aruna Ranganathan is the Unit Coordinator and can be contacted at a.ranganathan@cqu.edu.au and +61 2 9324 5748.
1 Written Assessment
Select an aircraft accident pertaining to 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 express your own opinion but ensure you justify your reasoning.
Week 6 Monday (17 Apr 2023) 11:45 pm AEST
midnight
Week 8 Monday (1 May 2023)
via Moodle
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.
- 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 the stability and control of an aircraft in flight
- Determine the performance aspects of power, weight, and speed in flight maneuvers
- Explain the factors that affect the stall and spin characteristics of an aeroplane.
2 Online Quiz(zes)
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, Qn . What gives an aircraft the basic Lift it needs to fly?
Four Possible Answers are: (1) the shape of the tailplane; (2) the imbalance of pressure on the upper and lower surfaces of the wings; (3) the inclination of the chord line to the horizontal; (4) the upward angle of the aircraft nose to the vertical.
5
Fortnightly
Due dates for each quiz are detailed on Moodle and will be reaffirmed in the Lectures
As specified after the closing date for each quiz.
This a simple correct or incorrect answer.
- 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.
Examination
Calculator - non-programmable, no text retrieval, silent only
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?
