User Guide

Learning To Fly with Rod Machado

Angle of Attack

The angle between the

wing and the wind that

blows on it is called the

angle of attack, as shown in

Figure 5.

In cruise flight at 110 knots, the

angle of attack is relatively small,

resulting in a near-level pitch

attitude, as shown in Figure 6A.

When we slowed the airplane

down, the autopilot, in order to hold

altitude, increased the angle of

attack by raising the airplane’s

pitch attitude, as shown in Figure

6B.

In cruise flight, the wing’s

engineered shape curves the air

enough to provide the necessary lift for flight. This allows us to fly at a small angle of attack. When the

airspeed decreases, however, the wing’s engineered shape can’t bend or curve the air sufficiently to

produce adequate lift. Therefore, we needed to artificially bend the air flowing over the wing by

making the wing attack the air at a larger angle. A larger angle of attack imparts a larger bend or

curve to the wind, causing the wind’s speed to increase as it flows aft. This results in an increase in

lift even though the airplane is flying at a slower airspeed.

At this point you’re probably thinking, “Hmmm, instead of learning to fly, maybe I should try

something simpler, like neurosurgery.” Don’t fret. You now have enough information to understand

the process of slow flight. Do you see the relationship between angle of attack and airspeed?

As the airspeed decreases, you must increase the angle of attack to maintain altitude. In other words,

to maintain level flight, you must increase the airplane’s pitch attitude by applying rearward pressure

on the joystick. At higher airspeeds, the wing’s engineered shape produces sufficient lift for level

flight at a near-level pitch attitude. Now you know why commercial airliners need large nose-up pitch

attitudes on liftoff since their takeoff speeds are so low. Once the jetliner accelerates to its cruise

speed, it flies along at a lower pitch attitude. Let’s put our knowledge to practice.

Figure 6

Figure 5

AIRPLANE’S MOTION

RELATIVE MOTION

ANGLE OF

ATTACK