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Hughie E. Butler
COMM/105
September 24, 2012

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On December 17, 1903 Orville Wright took the first sustained flight of a machine. This feat started the race what is todays Aviation world. In todays world of Aviation, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Stealth Fighters and massive cargo and airline jets are a thing of the norm. Being a part of the Aviation world, I have seen many variations of all the above. From single seat T-38 Trainer Jets to the Airbus 480, they come in all sizes in shapes with one thing in common, powered flight. Thrust is the essential component for the air vehicle to leave the hold of gravity closest to the Earth. Gravity is equal to 9.8 meters/second. This means that the center of an object in relativity to the center of the Earth has a force equal to 9.8 meters of force. As you move further away from Earths center or, Gravitational Pull, the force becomes lesser. For instance, at 1000KM above the surface you force becomes 7.33 m/s and at 5000KM force is 5.68 m/s. A jet engines thrust is what forces the mass or Air Vehicle away from the earths surface causing the effect of “lift off”. Thats just the tip of the iceberg. Flight characteristics is what keeps an air vehicle in “sustained flight”. Lift, pitch, yaw, and roll are the key factors within these characteristics. Newtons third law states that forces always come in equal and opposite pairs. When the thrust of engine measured at the conical point of exit goes against the air in which it sits the law becomes apparent. This law is involved with many if not all aspects of flight. The wing is a model of laws in itself. With horizontal movement through air the wing causes the effect of lift. Opposite pressures under and above the wing cause the wings to lift up. With speed comes lift, and lift comes flight.

3 Characteristics of flight are just that, characteristics. When you see an airplane above your house do you ever wonder how it changes direction or maneuvers through the clouds? The flight controls within an air vehicle is what do this. Lift, as I stated before, comes from the wings. What controls the lift and evens out the air vehicle are the Elevators. These boards if you will interrupt the wings ability to provide lift or interact with them to provide more lift. The yaw, or side to side movement on the X-axis, is controlled by the rudder. This control allows the pilot to “steer” the aircraft with a board on a vertical edge called the stabilizer. The pitch, or up and down movement on the Y-axis, is controls by pitch augmenters or Trim Stabilizers. These controls can be located on the nose of the aircraft, pitch augmenters, or at the tail, Trim Stabilizers. These allow the pilot to point the air vehicle Nose Up or Nose Down attitude to relieve stress on the wings or other flight controls. The roll, or movement rotationally on the Z-axis, is controlled by Ailerons and Roll Spoilers located on the trailing or aft edge of the wings. These allow pilots to use these in conjunction with Rudder and Elevator to get a myriad of movements on the axis spectrum. There is a constant upward moving scale to the bounds of flight and aviation. With electrical advancements in avionics and and new a world of jet engine technology the end is nowhere in sight. Aviation firsts are happening on a daily basis. We have only began to scratch the surface of Aviation and what it has to come. From the first flight of Orville Wright in 1903 to the first Moon landing in 1969 till now, the world of Aviation has become one of the worlds most technologically advanced sciences ever.