Abstract
The basic diagrams for the lift and drag of a wing and the lift-to-drag ratio are common in texts on aeronautics and how to fly. However, what is not normally given is the use of these diagrams to illustrate other aspects of flying - the speed required to fly straight and level (for each angle of attack of the wing) or the power required at each speed setting. This paper discusses these aspects, and grounds them in reality by using data from the Wright brothers' experiments on gliders. It also approximates the data with simple polynomial expressions, and shows that the main features of the curves derived are not sensitive to this sort of approximation. The paper uses little more than GCSE mathematics, but provides a real-life application of forces, moments and power that may appeal to many students.
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