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Quiz: 7 Questions To See How Well You Understand Aerodynamics

This story was made in partnership with AOPA. Ready to join the largest aviation community in the world? Sign up and become an AOPA Member today.
Boldmethod

You many think you know aerodynamics, but we'll let these questions be the true determination of that!


  1. 1) You're in a stall, you kick the rudder over, and you enter a spin. What's happening to your wings?

    That's right, in a spin, both wings are stalled.

    In a spin, both wings are stalled.

  2. 2) Your friend says "so there I was, flying at a high angle-of-attack..." What does angle-of-attack really mean?

    Yep, AOA is the acute angle between your wing's chord line and the relative wind.

    AOA is the acute angle between your wing's chord line and the relative wind.

  3. 3) You retract your flaps after takeoff. What's happening to your wings?

    That's right, as you retract flaps, you also decrease camber, or the 'curviness' of the wing cross-section.

    As you retract flaps, you also decrease camber, or the 'curviness' of the wing cross-section.

  4. 4) When you're flying a training aircraft, your plane's center of lift is normally _____ of the center of gravity.

    The center of lift is normally aft of the center of gravity in training airplanes.

    The center of lift is normally aft of the center of gravity in training airplanes.

  5. 5) You come in a little fast on final, and you float down the runway in ground effect. And you float some more. And some more. Why is this happening?

    That's right, ground effect is caused by a reduction of induced drag as your airplane gets within approximately 1 wingspan or less of the ground.

    Ground effect is caused by a reduction of induced drag as your airplane gets within approximately 1 wingspan or less of the ground.

  6. 6) You're climbing in a single engine aircraft at its service ceiling. What does your VSI read? (max weight, clean config, max continuous power)

    Yep, a single engine aircraft will have a climb rate of 100 FPM at its service ceiling.

    A single engine aircraft will have a climb rate of 100 FPM at its service ceiling.

  7. 7) When you load an aircraft tail-heavy, your CG and center of lift move _____, and your aircraft becomes _____ stable.

    That's right, when you load an aircraft tail heavy, the CG and center of lift move closer together, and the aircraft becomes less stable.

    When you load an aircraft tail heavy, the CG and center of lift move closer together, and the aircraft becomes less stable.

Well, you could have done better, but you could have done worse too...

You scored % But look on the bright side, think about what you learned in the last few minutes...

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Nice work, you know quite a bit about aerodynamics.

You scored % Not bad.

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Looks like you pretty much know it all.

You scored % Well done.

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Ready to join the largest aviation community in the world? Sign up and become an AOPA Member today.


Corey Komarec

Corey is an Airbus 320 First Officer for a U.S. Major Carrier. He graduated as an aviation major from the University of North Dakota, and he's been flying since he was 16. You can reach him at corey@boldmethod.com.

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