Theory of flight. A good reference.

Hey guys just ran across something that I thought warranted a referral.

http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/

This is a website a fella put together that comprehensively and methodically covers every aspect of the Principles of Flight. Its nice to jump to anytime you need a quick reference, an answer to an aeronautical quandary, or simply to freshen up you knowledge with. I'm actively studying the Multi-engine section right now while I work on my multi ticket! Hope you all enjoy.

p.s. Maybe those Husky drivers will use it to re-learn the relationship of weight vs. performance

It's an interesting site. I notice that he states things rather practically.
For example, he says "if your airplane is capable of a 10-to-1 lift-to-drag ratio, then you can glide to a point that is 1/10th of a radian (i.e. six degrees) below the horizon".

A 10:1 L/D ratio translates to a descent angle of 5.7106 degrees, while 1/10 radian is 5.7296 degrees. The discrepancy grows worse as the glide ratio steepens, but is close enough to be useful. I noticed that during his discussion of aoa, he didn't mention induced aoa, and while talking about induced drag, he didn't go into the effect of cranked wings on optimal planform and spanwise lift distribution. And so on. But all in all, it seems to be a durned good site.
All the best,
JimC

I particularly like the simple graphics that explain to the pilots just starting out how to look out the window (and use your thumb until you can see it) to set up an approach and do spot landings... took me years of flying and many, many passes through the Stick and Rudder book before I figured that out. Annoyed me that no instructor had ever caught on that I had always used some traffic pattern position and timing to decide configuration changes in my approach. Of course this lead to all kinds of challenges... the random touchdown point, the missed approach due to lousy speed control, difficulty in transitioning between planes with different performance levels. That one concept fixed a lot of problems.