Air legislation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Air legislation - Essay Example The center of gravity of an aircraft is its central imaginary point where it would balance when suspended. This point is important because it helps to determine an aircraft’s elevator effectiveness and stability and has an effect on the aircraft’s performance. For a successful flight the center of gravity should always fall within the stated limits provided by the aircraft’s manufacturer. These limits are the stated lateral and longitudinal limits where the center of gravity an aircraft must be situated during flight and is indicated in the aircraft’s manual. A change in the aircraft’s forward center of gravity increases the stability and the aircraft behaves as if it is heavier. This makes the aircraft to resist movement to outside forces. With the forward movement of the center of gravity, the aircraft is heavier on the nose. Change of the center of gravity from its required forward limit makes the elevator to be unable to hold its nose up especia lly during takeoff, landing and power-off glides. Performance of the aircraft decreases with a forward center of gravity. This creates a greater downward power on the aircraft’s tail needed to maintain the level cruising flight. This makes the aircraft to soar at a greater angle of attack which leads to a higher indicated stall speed and a more drag. An aft change of the center of gravity decreases the aircraft’s stability because the aircraft becomes more unstable as the center of gravity moves to the aft. This is because the elevator has a short arm distance from the center of gravity and therefore it needs a more deflection to produce an equal result. Stall recovery is almost impossible as the aircraft’s tendency to pitch down has been reduced. Moving the center of gravity beyond the aft limit makes the stall and spin recovery difficult. Change of the aft center of