Unit 2: Performance of Level Flight, Climb & Glide - Practice Quiz

1 For a steady climb at flight speed and climb angle , what is the rate of climb?

2 Which expression gives the rate of climb using excess power?

3 On a power-versus-speed graph, what does the vertical difference between power available and power required represent?

4 What happens to the maximum rate of climb at the absolute ceiling?

5 At the absolute ceiling, how are power available and minimum power required related?

6 The service ceiling of a conventional propeller aircraft is commonly defined as the altitude where its maximum rate of climb is:

7 How does the service ceiling normally compare with the absolute ceiling?

8 Which integral gives the time required to climb from altitude to altitude ?

9 On a graph of against altitude, what does the area under the curve between two altitudes represent?

10 What quantities are plotted on the axes of a climb hodograph?

11 On a climb hodograph, which point identifies the maximum rate of climb?

12 Maximum climb angle is obtained when which quantity is maximum?

13 A maximum climb angle is especially useful when an aircraft must:

14 Rate of climb is the rate of change of:

15 Maximum rate of climb occurs at the speed where which quantity is greatest?

16 In a steady power-off glide, which force provides the forward component that balances drag?

17 For a shallow steady glide, which relation approximately connects glide angle with aerodynamic efficiency?

18 Ignoring wind, which condition gives maximum range during a glide?

19 Flying at the minimum sink speed primarily helps an aircraft to:

20 The shallowest glide angle occurs at:

21 An aircraft climbs steadily at speed and flight-path angle . If thrust and drag are and , which expression gives its rate of climb?

22 At a particular altitude and speed, an aircraft has of power available and requires for level flight. If its weight is , what is its rate of climb?

23 A propeller aircraft's power-available and power-required curves are plotted against airspeed at a fixed altitude. At which speed is the maximum rate of climb obtained?

24 An aircraft has an excess thrust of while climbing at . Its weight is . Using the small-angle steady-climb relation, determine the rate of climb.

25 What condition identifies the absolute ceiling of an aircraft?

26 The maximum rates of climb are at and at . Assuming a linear variation with altitude, estimate the absolute ceiling.

27 For a specified service-ceiling criterion of , at what altitude is the service ceiling reached?

28 An aircraft's maximum climb rate decreases linearly from at to zero at . If the service-ceiling criterion is , what is the service ceiling?

29 Which integral gives the time required to climb from altitude to when the maximum rate of climb is ?

30 An aircraft's rate of climb decreases linearly from at sea level to at . What is the climb time, using exact integration of the linear relation?

31 For a graphical time-to-climb calculation, which graph has an area directly equal to climb time?

32 In a climb hodograph, the horizontal and vertical coordinates represent horizontal speed and climb speed . How is the maximum climb angle located?

33 Which point on a climb hodograph identifies the maximum rate of climb?

34 For a jet aircraft at a fixed altitude, maximum climb angle is attained approximately at the speed that provides:

35 An aircraft climbs steadily with thrust , drag , and weight . What is its climb angle?

36 During a steady, power-off glide at constant speed, which force relations apply when the flight-path angle below the horizontal is ?

37 An aircraft begins a no-wind glide from above the landing point and maintains . Neglecting final-flare height, what horizontal distance can it cover?

38 Two geometrically similar aircraft glide from the same altitude in still air at their respective maximum- speeds. Aircraft B has greater weight but the same drag polar as aircraft A. How do their maximum glide ranges compare?

39 For a power-off glide, minimum rate of sink occurs when which aerodynamic ratio is maximized?

40 An aircraft has a parabolic drag polar . What lift coefficient gives the shallowest glide angle?

41 For a steady climb with thrust parallel to the flight path, the climb angle is not assumed small. If drag depends on lift coefficient, which coupled relation correctly determines the rate of climb?

42 A propeller aircraft has constant available power , weight , and power required in SI units. Neglecting compressibility, what are the speed and maximum rate of climb?

43 On a power-versus-airspeed plot at a fixed altitude, which graphical construction identifies the maximum steady rate of climb when weight is fixed?

44 At an aircraft's absolute ceiling, the maximum-excess-power point occurs at an interior airspeed. What geometric condition must the power curves satisfy there?

45 The maximum excess power of an aircraft varies with altitude as kW, where is in km. If the aircraft weighs and service ceiling is defined by a maximum climb rate of , what are its service and absolute ceilings?

46 An aircraft's optimized climb rate is , with in metres. How long does it take to climb from sea level to ?

47 Maximum climb rates measured at altitudes , , , and are respectively , , , and . Using trapezoidal integration of the correct time-to-climb graph, estimate the time from to .

48 For an optimized climb, the rate of climb varies as , where and . What is the time required to climb from sea level to ?

49 A climb hodograph plots horizontal velocity against vertical velocity . Which constructions identify maximum climb angle and maximum rate of climb?

50 Four attainable points on a climb hodograph are , , , and , with components in . Which point gives the maximum climb angle?

51 A turbojet has speed-independent thrust over the relevant range. Using , , , , , and , estimate the speed for maximum climb angle under the small-angle approximation.

52 For a propeller aircraft under the small-angle approximation, maximum climb angle is obtained by maximizing . Which interior-point condition must the optimum speed satisfy?

53 Immediately after thrust is reduced to zero, an aircraft establishes a steady glide at the same airspeed used to define power required . With upward velocity positive, what does the excess-power equation predict?

54 An aircraft climbs while accelerating along a nearly straight flight path. If thrust is aligned with velocity, which energy relation correctly includes the acceleration penalty?

55 In a steady power-off glide, let be the positive angle below the horizontal. Without making the shallow-glide approximation, which force relations are correct?

56 A glider at altitude faces a headwind. Candidate airspeed and sink-rate pairs are , , , and in . Using the shallow-glide approximation, which pair maximizes ground range, and what range results?

57 An aircraft's weight increases by while its geometry, drag polar, altitude, and atmospheric density remain unchanged. In a still-air glide at maximum , how do horizontal range and time aloft change?

58 For the parabolic polar , compare the minimum-sink speed with the best-glide speed at the same weight and density.

59 A glider has , , , and . Under the shallow-glide approximation, what are its minimum-sink speed and sink rate?

60 For a drag polar , determine the lift coefficient and glide angle for the shallowest still-air glide.