Manual

and Angle of Attack are two differentthings. For instance, let’s say you areperforming a Zoom climb in order toshake a bandit off your tail. Your aircraftwould have a very nose-high attitude(pointed straight up) and yet have a verylow Angle of Attack.Stalling the AircraftIt is a common misconception among thenon-flying public that stalling meanstrouble with the engines. They instantlypicture a stall in terms rooted in theirground based existence; a sputtering,coughing motor in the family car. Actually,use of the word stall in the context offlying has nothing to do with the engines.Certain aircraft, specifically gliders, flyvery well without any engines at all. Andwhile these aircraft are certainly subjectto stalls, the lack of an engine is not toblame.A stall is caused by an actual separationof the air flow from the upper surface ofthe wing. The air flow over the top of thewing surface ends in an area of disturbedair extending forward from the trailingedge. This condition causes the aircraft to“depart from controlled flight” or stall.Note that this condition may occur withthe engines going full tilt. Speed has littleto do with the onset of a stall. Stalls occurwhen the aircraft’s AOA is too great toproduce the necessary amount of Lift tokeep it flying. Trying to fly the aircraft attoo great an Angle of Attack is the onesure way to cause a stall.It is important to note that speed, pitchattitude, and bank inclination are allfactors in determining whether a plane isabout to stall. An aircraft in level flightmay stall if it attempts too sharp a turnwithout increasing its speed. This is dueto insufficient lift being generated by thewing in direct opposition to gravity’s effecton the aircraft.The effects of a stall are differentdepending on the aircraft. Some aircraftsimply assume a mild nose-down attitudeuntil returning to level flight. Other aircraftmay enter a sudden and potentiallydangerous spin. On low level missions apilot may not have time to recover beforestriking the ground. This is especially trueif one wing stalls before the other.In FLEET DEFENDER the most likelytime for stall condition to occur isimmediately after take-off or while tryingto land. Despite having a catapult toliterally throw you into the air, you areinitially flying at just above stall speed.Therefore, on take-off, avoid sharp climbsuntil you are certain not to stall.Long slow-flight landing approaches bringyour airspeed down to dangerous levels.You must constantly be on guard. Intrying to land you will be flying at nearstallspeed for an extended period oftime. If you stall somewhere in thelanding pattern, you will not have enoughaltitude to affect a recovery before hittingthe water.G FORCES (GRAVITY)Gravity is measured in Gs (i.e. one Gequals the normal force of gravity, 3 Gswould be a force equal to three times thenormal force of gravity). The pilot andaircraft experience 1 G in straight andlevel flight. If that same pilot pulls a hardturn, centrifugal force will “load” additionalgravity on his wings.Modern fighter aircraft are constructed towithstand many times the force of gravity.It is actually the pilot that places limits onthe manoeuvrability of an aircraft. Aircraftare quite capable of performingmanoeuvres that would instantlyincapacitate any pilot that tried them.Gravity governs every move we make onthis planet. We are so used to the effectof gravity that we are usually not even