SHS3 Aviation And Aerospace Engineering · Semester 1 Week 12: Aircraft Structures and Control

Lesson notes

Learning Objectives

Indicator: 3.1.3.LI.2 - Determine the relationship between the location of the center of gravity of an aircraft and its stability.

By the end of the lesson, learners can:

Define the center of gravity (CG) of an aircraft and explain how it is determined from the distribution of weight along the airframe.
Explain how the position of the center of gravity relative to the center of pressure (CP) and the aerodynamic center affects the longitudinal stability of an aircraft.
Predict whether an aircraft will be statically stable, neutral, or unstable based on the fore-and-aft location of its center of gravity relative to the neutral point.
Demonstrate the effect of CG movement on aircraft stability using the pendulum and ball demonstrations from the exemplars.
Apply the CG-to-stability relationship to suggest practical loading arrangements (cargo, passengers, fuel) that keep an aircraft within its safe envelope.

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Curriculum details

Strand: Core Concepts in Aerospace Engineering (Strand 1)
Sub-strand: Aircraft Structures and Control (1.3)
Content standard: 3.1.3.CS.3 - Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the factors that account for stability of an aerospace vehicle. 3.1.3.LO.1 Identify the structural design of an airframe. 3.1.3.LO.2 Discuss the flight controls of aerospace vehicle and its impact on the movement of the vehicle. 3.1.3.LO.3 Explain the concepts of static dynamic stability of aerospace vehicles.
Indicator: 3.1.3.LI.2 - Determine the relationship between the location of the center of gravity of an aircraft and its stability.
Suggested placement: Semester 1, Week 12 (Week 12 of the year)
Our suggestion, laid out in curriculum order across three terms of twelve weeks. NaCCA does not fix the week, so follow your school's scheme of learning.
Curriculum reference: NaCCA curriculum document, p. 96

Exemplars (from the NaCCA curriculum)

Experiential Learning: Through demonstrations, use different movement patterns (crawling baby, upright movement of a grownup and bending over of an elderly person) to explain static stability. With this analogy, and emphasizing on the movement of center of gravity from one position to another, explains aerospace vehicle stability to learners.
Teaching and Learning Resources:
- A small ball
- Flat plate
- Pendulum
- Snapshots of birds in flight
- Introduction
- John D.
- to flight (a book by
- Anderson, Jr.)
Assessment (3.1.3.AS.2). The document marks these depth-of-knowledge levels for this indicator: Level 3 Strategic reasoning.