Chevron Left
Back to Flight mechanics - The basis

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Flight mechanics - The basis by ISAE-SUPAERO

4.7
stars
322 ratings

About the Course

More than one century after the Wright brothers' first flight, the flight still defy our intuition. You will learn here how to name the different parts of the airplane and how to describe and quantify its geometry. For that, we need now to share a precise vocabulary to describe the airplane's movement and attitude in space, and a refresher on basic general mechanic principles. You will remind how Newton's 2nd law allows you to determine what force must be applied on an apple - or on an airplane, to modify the magnitude and direction of its speed. Coming back on the concepts of kinetic energy and potential energy, you will discover the very useful concept of total height and you will be able to explain how an airplane can quickly exchange speed for altitude, while changes in total height are much slower. In the end, you will discover that only a very small number of forces apply on an airplane in flight and that you will be able to classify those that change its energy state and those that modify its trajectory. You will discover the concept of load factor and understand why the pilot of a combat aircraft can feel a weight nine-time greater than his actual weight! Finally, we will establish the lift and propulsion equations, that form the basis of flight mechanics, and you will be able to compute the lift and thrust necessary to follow a given trajectory at a given speed. This course is for anybody interested in learning more about how planes work, the physics of flying, or flight mechanics. It will be of particular interest to undergraduate students in aerospace engineering, trainees as well as senior pilots, journalists, and professionals in the aeronautics sector. Although some mathematical formalism may be present sometimes. It is always doubled by sketches, figures, and hands-explanations. So that, anybody can skip the formulas without losing the core understanding of the concepts. No apples were harmed in the making of this course... This course is only a foretaste of the mechanics of flight. ISAE-SUPAERO and Eric Poquillon will offer you other courses and the first specialization in autumn 2021. Initially, three courses will be published to answer several questions: Can we fly as high as we want? What is a stall? Why do some planes have propellers and others have jet engines? Is an airplane always stable? How do you control an airplane following an engine failure? All this and more will be covered in this series of flight mechanics courses. This course is a part of the specialization "Fundamentals of Flight mechanics"....

Top reviews

C

Nov 3, 2022

I am glad I took this course, it was worthwhile and I learned more than I had expected.

Thank you to the team that compiled this course and to anyone interested I would highly recommend taking it.

AT

Sep 4, 2022

The level of knowledge given in this crisp course is very good. I got to learn a lot of new things related to flying and terminologies and the physics behind airplanes. I am glad I took this course.

Filter by:

51 - 75 of 81 Reviews for Flight mechanics - The basis

By Rabbani A

•

Jun 27, 2023

Good, simple and understandable

By JUNUET A B V

•

May 27, 2023

me encanto, muy completo

By Fahim F

•

Jun 27, 2023

It was a great course.

By Mohammed S

•

Feb 23, 2023

هذه دورات ممتازاه جدا

By Akif K

•

May 31, 2022

Good Course for Basics

By Christopher P S

•

Apr 10, 2022

I really learned a lot

By Manuel A A G

•

Jun 21, 2023

The best of the best.

By Jacob A

•

Nov 8, 2022

Highly educative

By Emz

•

Oct 22, 2022

great i love it

By Emanoela T

•

Sep 25, 2021

awesome course

By Adilsha K

•

Dec 15, 2022

Great Course

By Aman K

•

Nov 25, 2021

great course

By MOUHI R

•

Aug 17, 2023

excellent!

By james m

•

Jul 3, 2022

Great

By nethmi i

•

Nov 11, 2021

great

By Pradikshan A K

•

Nov 7, 2021

Great

By BRIJESH S

•

Jul 24, 2023

Good

By Raouf O

•

Mar 19, 2022

t

By Dominik T

•

Mar 8, 2022

The course is designed for students with previous knowledge of at least freshman level physics and mathematics. Additionally, it is helpful to already be familiar with aeronautical knowledge such as theory of flight and the basic anatomy of airplanes, although some of it is reviewed at the start of the course.

I liked learning about the HUD (heads up display) and the more practical aspects of flight mechanics that are useful to pilots and other related aviation personalities.

I did not like the fact that a lot of the course felt like there was more opportunity to expand or explain different topics. When I attempted the quizzes, if not for my previous knowledge of the field, it felt as though there was not enough guidance beforehand.

By Stephen R

•

Nov 7, 2021

I enjoyed this course although my limited mathematical skills were a handicap, maybe some pre flight mechanics course on maths could be offered to students. I did pass reasonably well but dropped the very last exercise and I would have liked to see how close I was to the actual answer. Anyway, I learned a lot. I also had to watch the lectures many times to get the information in but I do feel it was worth the effort. Thank you,

By Frenchie F

•

Jun 23, 2022

I chose this course because I wanted to challenge myself which it did. The last time I saw the Newton's law was 38 years ago. Even without a background in science, it is possible to follow.

Be aware that you'll need to work at it. I took notes, screenshots, went to the library... It was hard work but it paid off.

I wished that the instructions were more detailed.

I did received a certificate.

By Kanishka J

•

Oct 8, 2021

Pros : Concepts were delivered in a nice and concise way. Especially the Energy relations. Cons : Accessing of quizzes on Week3 surely could be improved a lot. The expressions entered marked incorrect even though the expression is correct. As a suggestion probably some symbolic manipulation could be used there to improve the accuracy.

By Mohammed H F

•

Aug 27, 2022

The course was really good! I would recommend adding a part for modelling these concepts in MATLAB or any similar software.

By Takura M S

•

Jan 17, 2022

This course was more challenging than I expected but its a great course thank you Eric!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Peter C

•

Jan 10, 2023

A good course, however I could have used a bit of tutoring in Physics, and Algebra.