AVAT11005 - Flight Fundamentals

Showing: 2026 HE Term 1
General Information

Unit Synopsis

Aircraft require an array of mechanical, structural, and electrical components to ensure safe, comfortable, and efficient transport of passengers and goods across the world. In this unit, will you will learn the fundamental physics concepts that govern aircraft design and performance. You will study the laws of motion and the concepts of momentum and energy conversion to develop your knowledge of the various power sources used by aircraft and how these power sources propel aircraft forward. You will learn about fluid dynamics and gravitational forces to help understand the lift and aerodynamics of aircraft. You will learn about electrical circuits and wave propagation, which are the basic concepts behind numerous aircraft systems from autopilot to navigation systems to communication systems to inflight entertainment systems. Finally, you will combine your knowledge of these concepts to perform calculations relevant to flight planning, performance, and loading of aircraft.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2026

Term 3 - 2026 Profile
Cairns Online

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).

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.

Assessment Tasks

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

Past Exams

Previous Feedback

Term 3 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 0.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 10% response rate.

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.

Source: Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback:
This unit's overall student satisfaction score has significantly improved in this term.

Recommendation:
Continuously improving teaching efforts should be necessary for this unit.

Action Taken:
The course materials, including tests and lecture content, have been updated and improved.
Source: Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback:
Improvements are needed for the useful feedback score from the student survey.

Recommendation:
Separate consultation times beyond the usual lecture and tutorial classes to provide feedback to student should be arranged.

Action Taken:
A prompt response via email and separate consultation office hours have been arranged.
Source: Unit Coordinator observation and based on tutorial participation.
Feedback:
The student would benefit from more practice applying concepts to problems and visualising abstract processes.

Recommendation:
More guided, tutorial‑style practice and expanded use of animations and interactive simulations should be provided.

Action Taken:
In Progress
Unit Learning Outcomes
This information will not be available until 8 weeks before term.
To see Learning Outcomes from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.