Basic Laws Of Aerodynamics Or Aerodynamics for Dummies

Newton’s Laws of Motion • Law of Inertia • Law of Acceleration • Law of Action and Reaction

Law of Inertia Newton’s First Law: This law states that a body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by an outside force.

Practical example of the Law of Inertia • Rotor system prior to start (remains at rest) • Engine overcomes resistance to movement (outside force) • Rotor continues to spin after shutdown (remains in motion) • Rotor slows due to air resistance or outside force) (Drag

Law of Acceleration Newton’s Second Law: The force required to produce a change in the motion of a body is directly proportional to its mass and the rate of change in its velocity. Acceleration is a change in velocity with respect to time. It can be either an increase or decrease in velocity

Acceleration = Force over Mass The force required to move an A-Star across the ramp to some speed is greater than the force required to move an R-22 OR If we applied the same force used to move the A-Star on the R-22, the R-22 would move faster, or accelerate.

Law of Action and Reaction Newton’s Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction If an interaction occurs between two bodies, equal forces in opposite directions will be imparted to each body

Torque Effect is an example of “Action - Reaction” or Another example is The Recoil from a Gun…

Question Why does the projectile move and the barrel remain in place?

Answer: Because the barrel has more mass

Questions? Go home ball!