Principles of Flight
Aerodynamics
Understand the four forces: lift, weight, thrust, drag. Know Bernoulli's principle and Newton's laws. Study angle of attack, stall, and the lift curve. Understand induced drag and parasite drag.
Stability and Control
Know longitudinal, lateral, and directional stability. Understand the function of ailerons, elevator, rudder, and trim. Study load factor and turns.
Traps
Questions often test the stall speed increase with load factor: stall speed increases with the square root of load factor. Also, know that induced drag is highest at low speed and decreases with speed, while parasite drag increases with speed.
Worked Example
If stall speed at 1g is 50 kt, at 2g it is 50 * sqrt(2) = 70.7 kt. At 60° bank, load factor is 2g, so stall speed increases to 70.7 kt.
Rule of Thumb
For turns: load factor = 1/cos(bank angle). At 60° bank, load factor = 2. For stall: angle of attack is the critical factor, not airspeed.