Descent Flashcards
Descent Angle
Angle of aeroplanes flight path measured with respect to earths horizontal
Descent gradient (air gradient)
Ratio of vertical height lost divided by the horizontal distance through the AIR
Ground gradient (flight path gradient)
Vertical height lost for horizontal distance flown over the ground affected by wind
Minimum Angle Of Descent
Minimum excess drag - VMD - Green dot speed
Maximum Angle Of Descent
Maximum exceeds drag - faster speed within restriction
Air gradient formula
Excess drag
—————- x 100
Weight
Ground Gradient Formula
Air gradient x TAS/GS
Descent Angle given Lift/Drag Ratio
Tan-1 x (D/L)
Descent gradient from L/D ratio
D/L X 100
Gross gradient to net gradient factor to be applied
0.5%
Minimum Angle Of Descent
VMD
Minimum between the thrust line at bottom of graph and the drag curve
Rate Of Descent Formula
Power required - Power Available
———————————————
Weight
Minimum rate of descent speed
Faster than VMP but slower than VMD
Glide Range Formula
Height x L/D ratio
Mass affect on glide angle and VMD
Mass does not effect glide angle as no change in L/D proportions
VMD speed increases for mass
