Mathematics and flying

• A major part of flight school ground training is learning the mathematics of flight. An airplane in flight is affected by four forces: thrust, drag, lift and gravity.The relationship between these forces is defined by mathematical formulas. Thrust and lift are controlled by the pilot. She can increase or decrease the throttle setting to change thrust. Pulling or pushing on the stick or pilot's yoke changes the lift. A knowledge of geometry allows the pilot to know the exact amount of change he needs to make to fly the airplane with skill and efficiency.
  
  

The geometry of flight

• Flying an aircraft is all about changing or maintaining the angles of the flight path. If you look at the flying terms you will see how much geometry is involved in being a pilot. Some geometric flying terms: climb out angle, angle of attack, bank angle and turn radius.
  
  As part of her flight training, a pilot will need to understand geometry when these terms are taught. A pilot needs to be able to understand the math of the dynamics of flight when going through his ground study program. he must also be able to apply the geometry of climbing, descending and turning while actually flying an airplane.
  
  

Some examples of geometry in flight

• Here are a few example of how a pilot would use geometry while flying.
  
  The pilot is told he needs to turn his aircraft to avoid a hazard 5 miles ahead. He must be able to calculate the correct bank angle that will give a turn radius small enough to avoid the hazard.
  
  When planning her takeoff the pilot sees that there is a mountain range 6 miles from the end of the runway and the highest point on the range is 5,000 feet above the airport elevation. The pilot must calculate the angle of climb out to be able to fly above the mountains by at least 1,000 feet.
  
  An airplane is cruising at 30,000 feet and the pilot is told by air traffic control to descend to 10,000 feet in 10 miles. He must calculate the angle of descent to lose the correct amount of altitude.
  
  As a pilot, your knowledge of geometry will allow you to solve these problems quickly.
  
  

Pilot testing requires geometry

• Before becoming a pilot, you will need geometry to pass the written pilot tests. In the sample questions for the private pilot license on the FAA website, four out of the first 10 questions require a knowledge of geometry.