In flight mechanics, the “angle of attack,” often denoted as “α” (alpha), refers to the angle between the chord line of an airfoil (such as an aircraft wing) and the oncoming airflow. It’s a critical parameter that describes how the airfoil is positioned with respect to the direction of the oncoming air.
- α: Angle of attack, which is the angle between the chord line of an airfoil (like a wing) and the oncoming airflow.
- tan: The tangent function in trigonometry.
- w: Bank angle, which is the angle between the aircraft’s longitudinal axis and the horizontal plane. It is relevant when the aircraft is rolling in a turn.
- u: Longitudinal velocity of the aircraft, often referred to as the forward velocity component.