AERODYNAMICS MIDTERM EXAM #2

Basic Properties of Physics

1) What is a moment?

a) A push or pull exerted on a body

b) A force acting over a distance to produce rotation about an axis
c) Mass per unit of volume
d) A force acting toward the center of the Earth

2) What affect does an increase in altitude have on temperature?

a) Decreases until 25,000’ and then remains constant

b) Decreases until there are no molecules of air
c) Decrease until 36,000’ and then remains constant until 80,000’
d) Decreases until 0 degrees is reached

3) If altitude is held constant, a decrease in temperature has what affect on density?

a) An increase
b) No affect
c) A decrease

4) Which one of the following causes a change in the speed of sound?

a) Density
b) Pressure
c) Temperature
d) Humidity

5) An aircraft is climbing vertically at a constant airspeed in equilibrium flight. Which of these is true?

a) Thrust equals weight

b) Lift equals weight
c) Kinetic energy equals potential energy
d) Thrust equals weight plus drag

6) What is humidity?

a) Mass per unit of volume?

b) Amount of water vapor in the air
c) Amount of oxygen in the air
d) A measure of air’s resistance to flow

7) What is the effect of runway temperature if the airfield static pressure remains constant and density
increases, according to the General Gas Law?

a) Air temperature increases

b) Air temperature decreases
c) There is no effect

Airplane Terminology
8) What are the 5 major components of an airplane?

a) Wings, fuselage, empennage, landing gear, engine

b) Wings, cockpit, empennage, flaps, engine
c) Fuselage, rudder, empennage, ailerons, engine
d) Fuselage, empennage, engine/transmission assembly, vertical stabilizer, rudder

9) What three major components comprise an empennage?

a) Vertical stabilizer, elevator, trim tabs

b) Horizontal stabilizer, rudder, fuselage
c) Rudder, elevator, and the aft part of the fuselage
d) Vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, and the aft part of the fuselage

10) All changes in aircraft attitude occurs about which position?

a) Aerodynamic center (AC)

b) Center of pressure (CP)
c) Center of gravity (CG)
d) Cockpit

11) Yaw is defined as the motion of the longitudinal axis about which axis?

a) Lateral axis
b) Longitudinal axis
c) Vertical Axis
d) Horizon

12) The wingspan of the T-34c is:

a) 35’ 3”
b) 33’ 5”
c) 53’ 3”
d) 34’ 4”

13) The wings of the T-34c are tapered:

a) On the leading edge

b) On the trailing edge
c) At the root
d) Both a and b

14) What control surfaces control roll?

a) Elevators
b) Rudder
c) Control stick
d) Ailerons

15) The apparent surface area of the wing from wing tip to wing tip is the:

a) Taper
b) Aspect ration
c) Wing area
d) Sweep angle
16) What is airspeed considered to be in the study of aerodynamics?

a) A uniform mixture of gases with the properties of a solid

b) A non-uniform mixture of gases with the properties of a solid
c) A uniform mixture of gases with the properties of a fluid
d) A non-uniform mixture of gases with the properties of a fluid

17) What is indicated airspeed?

a) It is the actual aircraft velocity through an air mass

b) It is the result of correcting for errors in the instrument due to position or location
c) It is the result of correcting calibrated airspeed (CAS) for compressibility effects
d) It is the instrument indication for some given flight condition

18) An aircraft is stabilized in level flight at 600 knots TAS with a ground speed of 8 nautical miles per
minute. What is the wind component?

a) 120 knot headwind

b) 120 knot tailwind
c) 120 knot crosswind
d) 120 knot downdraft

19) What component in the pitot-static system provides total pressure input?

a) The density spring

b) The static pressure port
c) The barometric unit
d) The pitot tube

20) What change in mach number occurs as an aircraft descends at a constant 350 knots IAS?

a) Mach number increases

b) Mach number decreases
c) Mach number remains the same
d) There is no mach number at this speed

Lift and Stalls

21) What is the chord line of an airfoil?

a) A straight line extending from the upper surface to the lower surface of an airfoil
b) A straight line extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge of an airfoil
c) A straight line extending from the wing root to the wing tip
d) A diagonal line from the leading edge wing root to the trailing edge wing tip

22) What is the angle formed between the wing chord line and the longitudinal axis?

a) Angle of attack
b) Angle of incidence
c) Pitch angle
d) Sideslip angle

23) What is the aerodynamic force equation?

a) AF = qSCF
 b) AF = qSCL
c) AF = qSCD
d) AF = qSCHACC

24) What change in angle of attack is needed to maintain a constant amount of lift as aircraft TAS
decreases?

a) An increase
b) A decrease
c) No change
d) It is not possible to maintain a constant amount of lift as TAS decreases

25) What is the single largest factor in increasing an aircraft’s stall speed?

a) Increasing weight
b) Decreasing weight
c) Decreasing air density
d) Decreasing humidity

26) What two factors does the pilot control that affect the coefficient of lift?

a) Velocity and density

b) Velocity and angle of attack
c) Angle of attack and density
d) Angle of attack and camber

27) Which of the following, when doubled, will cause the greatest increase in lift?

a) Velocity
b) Coefficient of lift
c) Density
d) Area

28) According to the lift equation (L = 1/2pV2SCL), upon what variables is lift directly dependent?

a) TAS, S, V
b) TAS, q, S
c) TAS, C, S, density
d) TAS, p, CL, S

29) At zero degrees angle of attack, a symmetrical airfoil will produce:

a) Lift, but less than a positively cambered airfoil

b) No form drag
c) No induced drag
d) No net aerodynamic force

30) What change in the coefficient of total drag (CDt) occurs at angles of attack greater than CLMAX?

a) Coefficient of total drag (CDt) increases

b) Coefficient of total drag (CDt) decreases
c) Coefficient of total drag (CDt) remains constant

31) What is equivalent to parasite area (f)?

a) A cross-sectional area of the aircraft

 b) A combination of an aircraft’s cross-sectional area presented to the relative wind and other
aircraft surfaces over which air flows
c) The airfoil surfaces which have the same texture
d) Aircraft surfaces where parasite drag values are equal

32) Vortices can cause one or both of the wings of a trailing plane to stall.

a) True
b) False

Thrust and Power

33) Power required is:

a) The amount of power required to lift the weight of an aircraft

b) The amount of power needed to reduce drag
c) The amount of power required to produce thrust required
d) The amount of power required to start the aircraft’s engines

34) The amount of thrust that an aircraft’s engines are actually producing at a give throttle setting, velocity
and density is:

a) Thrust required
b) Thrust available
c) Power required
d) Thrust horsepower

35) As air density decreases, power available:

a) Decreases
b) Increases
c) Remains constant

36) Thrust horsepower depends only on thrust and velocity.

a) True
b) False

37) As the throttle is retarded, thrust available:

a) Decreases
b) Increases
c) Remains constant

38) As air density decreases, thrust available:

a) Increases
b) Decreases
c) Remains constant

39) The T-34c’s engines are limited by the Navy to:

a) 1350 SHP
b) 1015 SHP
c) 400 SHP
d) 425 SHP
40) Propeller efficiency (pe):

a) Determines power required

b) Is the ability of the engine to turn engine output into thrust
c) Is a turboprop’s engine output
d) Is propeller output

41) For a turbojet, max thrust excess occurs at:

a) L/D
b) L/D minimum
c) L/D maximum
d) TAS

42) With an increase in altitude:

a) Power excess increases

b) Power excess decreases
c) Power excess remains constant

KEY

1) b
2) c
3) a
4) c
5) d
6) b
7) b
8) a
9) d
10) c
11) c
12) b
13) d
14) d
15) c
16) c
17) d
18) a
19) d
20) b
21) b
22) b
23) a
24) a
25) a
26) b
27) a
28) d
29) a
30) a
31) b
32) a
33) c
34) d
35) a
36) b
37) c
38) b
39) d
40) b
41) c
42) b