Chapter 1

What is the mean free path?

What is an ideal gas? What does the ideal gas law assume?
What is pressure at a molecular level? What is temperature at a molecular level? What is
density at a molecular level?
What is the continuum hypothesis?

Chapter 2
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What are the two classifications of aerodynamic forces? What is an example of each?
What are streamlines? Can streamlines cross?
What is a pathline?
What is a streak line?

Chapter 3
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What is the standard atmosphere? Why do we use it?

What is the hydrostatic equation? What does it relate?
What are the three types of altitudes? What are the relationships between them?
What happens to temperature as you increase in altitude? What is an isothermal region?

Chapter 4
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What are the three equations used to solve fluid problems?

What is the difference between incompressible and compressible flow? How many equations do
you need to solve an incompressible flow problem vs. a compressible flow problem?
What is the theory behind/basis for the continuity equation? What assumptions do we make?
What is the theory behind the momentum equation?
o For incompressible flow what is the equation called? What is its value along a
streamline?
o What assumptions do we make to get the incompressible momentum equation?
What is the theory behind the energy equation?
What is work?
What does adiabatic mean? Reversible? What is a process that is both adiabatic and reversible
called?
What is Cp? Cv? What is ? What is the value of ?
What is the equation for speed of sound?
What is a shock wave? How thick is a shock wave?
What is the Mach number? What are the 5 regimes of flow?
What is the critical Mach number?
What are the three types of pressures? How are they related?
How do we measure pressure in the wind tunnel? What are pros and cons for each?

Describe an open loop wind tunnel. Describe a closed loop wind tunnel. What are the parts of
each? What is the difference between a suction and a blow down tunnel?
What are the isentropic relations? What are they used for? Can they be used for incompressible
and compressible flow?
What happens to subsonic flow when the area increases? Decreases? What happens to
supersonic flow when the area increases? Decreases?
What is the throat? What is choked flow?
What is a boundary layer? Why do we call this viscous flow?
What are the two types of viscous flow? What do we call the point from which it changes from
one type to the other?
What is the Reynolds number?
At what Reynolds number do we consider the flow to be turbulent?
What is shear stress? How does this relate to boundary layers? How does this relate to drag?
What is this kind of drag called?
What is the flat plate approximation for boundary layers? Why is this useful?
What is the critical Reynolds number? How do we determine the critical Reynolds number?
What happens when the flow separates? What kind of drag does this create?
What is an adverse pressure gradient? How does this relate to flow separation?

Chapter 5
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What are the parts of a wing? Parts of the airfoil?

What is the aerodynamic center?
What variables do Lift, Drag, and Moment depend on?
Why is the moment also dependent on chord length?
How are cl, cd, and cm determined? Describe the cl vs. angle of attack graph. What are the
features? What happens if you add camber to the airfoil? Why does this happen?
What is AR? How is it determined? When do you want low AR vs. high AR?
What is Cp? What is it used for? Is it larger, smaller, or the same on both surfaces? Is it a valid
coefficient for all flight regimes?
What is Cp,cr? What happens to Cp,cr as the airfoil thickness is increased?
Why would it be important to know where your critical Mach number is?
What happens to drag as your Mach number increases?
What is wave drag? How do we reduce wave drag? What is a Mach wave? What is the Mach
angle?
What are the components of drag? And what are they? What happens to induced drag and skin
friction drag as you increase speed?
What is downwash? What happens to your angle of attack? What happens to you drag?
What is the Oswald efficiency factor? When is it 1? What is it for a general aircraft?
What happens to your lift slope between a finite and infinite wing? Why does the slope change?
How does coefficient of lift change with aspect ratio?
Why do we sweep wings? How does this relate to the Mach wave?

What are flaps? What are they used for? How does it relate to stall velocity? What are leading
edge slots?
What is stall velocity?
What is the circulation theory of lift? Why do we no longer use it?

Chapter 6
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What is a drag polar? How do we use it?

What are the forces acting on an airplane? How do they point?
What is static performance?
What is thrust required? How do we find thrust required? How does the thrust required curve
change with altitude?
How do we calculate available power?
What does the intersection of thrust required and thrust available indicate? How does that
change with altitude? See figure 6.20
What are the different kinds of air-breathing engines? What is an advantage and disadvantage
for each?
What are the different kinds of rocket engines? What is an advantage and disadvantage of each?
What is the climb angle? How do we determine the climb angle?
What is the rate of climb? What happens to your rate of climb as you increase in altitude?
What is the service ceiling? What is the absolute ceiling?
What is gliding flight? How is that different from cruising flight?
What is descent rate? What is the descent angle?
When do we burn the most fuel? When do we burn the least amount of fuel?
What is the time to climb? How does that change with altitude?
What is SFC? TSFC?
What is maximum range? How do we maximize that? What is maximum endurance? How do we
maximize that?
Maximum range and endurance relations for jet and propeller driven aircraft. I guess you have
to memorize these
CD0 to CDi relation for those CL/CD relations
What happens to your take off distance if you try to take off from a higher altitude? What about
higher ambient temperature? What happens to your take off velocity?
How can decrease lift-off distance?
What about landing distance? What happens as you increase altitude?
How do we determine maximum turn radius? What is the maneuver point? Corner point?
What is the load factor?

Chapter 7
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What is static stability? What does statically stable mean? What does statically unstable mean?

What is dynamic stability? What does dynamically stable mean? What does dynamically
unstable mean?
What are the three control angles of rotation for an aircraft?
What point do these control angles rotate about?
What is the neutral point?
What criteria has to be met for an aircraft to be longitudinally balanced and statically stable?
What is the static margin? How does it relate to stability?
What do elevators do to pitching moment?
What is trim angle?
What does the tail do to your stability?