What Coltrols your airspeed?

Question

I am a student in Aviation and I would like to know your opinion.

Answer 1

I am assuming that as an aviation student, you have heard the phrase "Attitude + Power = Performance."  Attitude controls your airspeed and power controls your rate of climb/descent.  If you have done much flying, you will have likely seen that if you simply reduce your power, you start to descend, add power and you climb, yet your airspeed never changes.  Pull back on the stick without power changes and your airspeed drops.  Push forward without power changes and the airspeed increases.

Attitude controls airspeed.  This is not opinion, it is fact.

Answer 2

Airspeed is controlled by either pitch or throttle.

In normal flight conditions you can increase speed by lowering the nose or by increasing throttle.

If you just increase throttle in normal flight conditions the aircraft will climb; so if you want to go faster with throttle alone you'll want to maintain altitude with pitch as you increase speed with throttle.

If you climb high enough you won't have any throttle left to increase speed so you have to use pitch and accelerate as you descend.

Answer 3

In level flight, power obviously controls airspeed.  If altitude can be varied, then power will control altitude and pitch will control airspeed.  That of course is a very simplistic, but reasonably accurate interpretation.  In real life, a combination of control inputs will be applied to produce the desired result.

Answer 4

Airspeed is governed by how you manage your forces. Controlling thrust is one way, changing the drag of the airframe is another (implies usage of flaps and airbrakes) and finally energy management. Energy management means trading potential energy (read altitude) for speed and vice versa. Many answers put this in the direct form by saying "pitch control".

Answer 5

--Depends on the flight regime, and how the pilot is controlling speed.

During the takeoff roll airspeed is controlled mostly with power.

When power is fixed when gliding or climbing, you can control speed with pitch.

That can be done on a short field approach, too.  (Practical Test Standards--Private Pilot).  That is good practice whenever flying in the region of reverse command.

During cruise you control it with power.  You can control it with pitch, but it is not as convenient.

When descending at a fixed power setting, you can control speed with pitch.

When approaching to land you can control it with either pitch or power, or both.  If an autopilot is keeping the aircraft on an electronic glideslope with pitch adjustments, then power is adjusted to  to control speed.

Power, pitch, configuration, bank angle, ground effect, skidding, propeller pitch, speed brakes, spoilers, control deflections, wind gradient,  updrafts, etc. affect airspeed, and the pilot can use any or all of those to control it.

Answer 6

Well Friend,

This question has confused many people, even experienced pilots, I guess, since aviation was born.

1). Let us begin with what is WRONG.

If you ask an average person on the street to tell what controls AIRSPEED and what controls PITCH, he is most likely to make the following connections:

THROTTLE - AIRSPEED

JOYSTICK - PITCH

THIS IS WRONG.

2). Now let us see what is RIGHT.

The right connections would be:

THROTTLE - PITCH

JOYSTICK - AIRSPEED.

So, your airspeed is controlled by the JOYSTICK.

Many people assume that the more THROTTLE you apply, the greater the AIRSPEED becomes. THIS IS WRONG. Many pilots have lost their lives because some stup*d people told them about the connections I have outlined in point 1.

While increasing THROTTLE gives you more POWER, YOU ACTUALLY USE THE JOYSTICK TO CONTROL YOUR AIRSPEED. You can be running your engine at full THROTTLE, and still your AIRSPEED can be Zero. It is wrong and DEADLY to assume that increasing or decreasing power makes the airplane fly faster or slower.

Pulling on the joystick will raise the nose of your airplane, and the airspeed will drop. It does not matter whether you have full power applied. As long as your nose is high, your airspeed will be low. In fact, MANY AIRPLANE ACCIDENTS HAVE HAPPENED DUE TO LOSS OF AIRSPEED WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING NICELY AT FULL THROTTLE.

Also, if you THROTTLE all the way back and lower the nose of your airplane, you will achieve an airspeed that is ten - fold.

REMEMBER, AIR SPEED AND POWER (THROTTLE) ARE TWO TOTALLY INDEPENDENT VARIABLES.

I have included a link for the book that everyone from aviation enthusiast to an aviation student like you MUST read. Dear friend, it might cost you some money (or you can search your local library), but the lessons will last you a lifetime, distinguishing you from the scores of fools who have fancy and deadly theories about flight.

Hope this helps.

God Bless

Answer 7

A combination of engine power, drag (from flaps, speed brakes, or angle of attack), and rate of climb or descent.

Answer 8

If you're asking what controls it, it is some basic things, thrust vs. drag mainly.

The amount of thrust applied by the engine(s) to overcome the drag of the airframe will affect airspeed up to the point where drag will overcome the amount of thrust applied.

Also, airspeed can be controlled by the climb or descent of the aircraft. Generally speaking, when the aircraft climbs, airspeed is reduced as it works to overcome the effects of gravity unless additional thrust is applied. Conversely, when descending, the additional pull of gravity increases airspeed.

Answer 9

high speed, low drive

Answer 10

Pitch controls airspeed, power controls altitude