Basic Air Force Cadet Course

Introduction

The Basic Air Force Cadet Course is designed to provide you with information on 3 subjects related to the Air Force as well as one subject related to the ROTTWEILER Corps to give you the information you need to be successful as an Air Force Cadet. The information provided on this page will prepare you for your course test.

Each lesson below will cover one of the 4 subjects and there will be questions on the test which reflect on each lesson, so make sure to pay close attention. 

Once you are ready, click on the TAKE THE TEST link, and you will be directed to the Basic Air Force Test. Once you have completed the course test you will be notified by email of your results on the test and whether or not you have passed. In order to pass the test you must get a minimum of 7 out of the 10 questions correct.

In order to be promoted to Cadet(AF), you must pass this course. 

Lesson One: Principles of Flight

There are four basic forces that are acting on the aircraft during flight which are always there during all maneuvers. While there are other forces present during specific situations, for the purposes of this lesson we will be covering the basic 4 forces that are always acting upon the aircraft while it is in flight, which are:

• Lift

• Weight

• Thrust

• Drag

While in steady flight the opposing forces are in equilibrium. Lift and thrust are considered positive forces, while weight and drag are considered negative forces, and the sum of the opposing forces is zero. In other words, lift equals weight and thrust equals drag.

When pressure is applied to the controls, one or more of the basic forces changes in magnitude and becomes greater than the opposing force, causing the aircraft to accelerate or move in the direction of the applied force. For example, if power is applied (which increases thrust) and altitude is maintained then the aircraft will accelerate.

To help you understand how all this works we will define in greater detail what each of the four basic forces acting on the aircraft are, and how they work as follows:

1. Weight (Gravity)

Weight is a force that is always directed toward the center of the earth. The magnitude of the weight depends on the mass of all the airplane parts, plus the amount of fuel, plus any payload on board (people, baggage, freight, etc.). The weight is distributed throughout the airplane. But we can often think of it as collected and acting through a single point called the center of gravity. In flight, the airplane rotates about the center of gravity.

Flying encompasses two major problems; overcoming the weight of an object by some opposing force, and controlling the object in flight. Both of these problems are related to the object's weight and the location of the center of gravity. During a flight, an airplane's weight constantly changes as the aircraft consumes fuel. The distribution of the weight and the center of gravity also changes. So the pilot must constantly adjust the controls to keep the airplane balanced, or trimmed.

 2.    Lift 

To overcome the weight force, airplanes generate an opposing force called lift. Lift is generated by the motion of the airplane through the air and is an aerodynamic force. "Aero" stands for the air, and "dynamic" denotes motion. Lift is directed perpendicular to the flight direction. The magnitude of the lift depends on several factors including the shape, size, and velocity of the aircraft. As with weight, each part of the aircraft contributes to the aircraft lift force. Most of the lift is generated by the wings. Aircraft lift acts through a single point called the center of pressure. The center of pressure is defined just like the center of gravity, but using the pressure distribution around the body instead of the weight distribution.

The distribution of lift around the aircraft is important for solving the control problem. Aerodynamic surfaces are used to control the aircraft in roll, pitch, and yaw.

3.    Drag

As the airplane moves through the air, there is another aerodynamic force present. The air resists the motion of the aircraft and the resistance force is called drag. Drag is directed along and opposed to the flight direction. Like lift, there are many factors that affect the magnitude of the drag force including the shape of the aircraft, the "stickiness" of the air, and the velocity of the aircraft. Like lift, we collect all of the individual components' drags and combine them into a single aircraft drag magnitude. And like lift, drag acts through the aircraft center of pressure.

4.    Thrust

To overcome drag, airplanes use a propulsion system to generate a force called thrust. The direction of the thrust force depends on how the engines are attached to the aircraft. In the figure shown above, two turbine engines are located under the wings, parallel to the body, with thrust acting along the body centerline. On some aircraft, such as the Harrier, the thrust direction can be varied to help the airplane take off in a very short distance. The magnitude of the thrust depends on many factors associated with the propulsion system including the type of engine, the number of engines, and the throttle setting.

For jet engines, it is often confusing to remember that aircraft thrust is a reaction to the hot gas rushing out of the nozzle. The hot gas goes out the back, but the thrust pushes towards the front.

Lesson Two: Propulsion

Ever since they have had airplanes (except for the glider) they have needed engines to keep them in the air. In this lesson we are going to go over a couple different types of engines and how they work, as this is a fundamental basic that everybody in the Air Force should understand, whether you are flying the planes or working on them, or even up in the tower directing them, these basics will help you understand how the engine operates, so that you can get an appreciation for what it is capable of and identify any problems.

Piston Engines

Like a car has an engine, so does an aircraft. So it's not surprising that the first aircraft engines that the Wright Brothers flew in 1903 were based on the same engines found in cars, which are piston engines. The problem they soon realised however was the cooling system used in a car engine, which is a water cooling system (based on outside air coming in to cool the warm water in the engine) requires water, which adds a lot of excess weight and drag (as explained in Lesson 1) limiting the aircraft's performance capabilities substantially. So in 1908, only 5 years after the first flight by the Wright Brothers air-cooled engines were introduced, and they performed much better than their water cooled predecessors due to 30% or more less weight on the aircraft.

Like any new innovation however there were road bumps which is why you still saw liquid cooled engines all the way into late 1940s (in fact some of the best fighter planes in World War 2 used liquid cooled engines). A major advancement however in air cooled engines was the development of the NACA cowling, which was an enclosure for the engine that limited the flow of air over the engine cylinders to the air actually in contact with the cooling fins of the cylinders.

Jet Engines

A Jet Engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet of fluid to generate thrust. Most jet engines are internal combustion engines which mean that the combustion of fuel occurs with air coming into a combustion chamber. The following diagram shows you the various parts of a jet engine and the process that it goes through by passing through various sections of the engine, in order to produce force.

There are many different types of Jet Engines, however we are just going to focus on the 2 most common types and what they are used for, as follows:

1. Turbofan Engines

Most modern jet engines are turbofans, where the low pressure compressor acts as a fan, supplying supercharged air not only to the engine core, but also to a bypass duct. The bypass airflow either passes to a separate cold nozzle or mixes with low pressure gases, before expanding through a mixed flow nozzle. These engines are used for airliners because they give an exhaust speed that is better matched for subsonic airliners, because at the speeds airliners travel which is more conventional these types of engines will waste less energy.

2. Rocket Engines

This is a very common form of jet engine, used for high altitude flights because of their very high thrust and lack of reliance on atmospheric oxygen which makes them capable of operating at much higher altitudes. These types of engines are used for space exploration, launching satellites and were the engines that permitted us to land on the moon.

Lesson Three: Navigation

There are several different methods of navigation used by pilots to find their way from one place to another. They are as follows:

Pilotage: Pilotage is navigation by reference to landmarks such as mountains, cities and rivers.

Dead Reckoning: Navigation by use of predetermined vectors of wind and true airspeed and pre-calculated heading, ground speed and estimated time of arrival.

Radio Navigation: Navigation by use of radio aids, that is, navigation signals broadcast by radio stations on the ground or from satellites.

Celestial Navigation: Navigation by measuring angles to the heavens (sun, moon and stars) to determine your position on the earth.

Inertial Navigation: Navigation by self-contained airborne gyroscopic equipment or electronic computers that provide a continuous display of position. For example, GPS systems.

Most of the time a pilot will use several of the above methods of navigation in combination, in order to get the best results. For instance pilotage is limited to what you can see but by combining this type of navigation with dead reckoning it will be far more effective than using one or the other on its own.

Lesson Four: Chain of Command

ROTTWEILER - RCC ('Ranger Cadet Combined Corps') Online Training Team; Worldwide Electronic Integration and Learning Enrichment Regiment - , like any military organization, has a strict chain of command. That must be followed whenever you have an issue.

The chain is set up this way so that you have someone to speak with on every level. 

Authority is granted to persons on each level to perform certain functions and deal with problems of certain severity. 

If a problem ever arises that is beyond that persons power, they take it up to the next level on the chain of command. 

An issue will continue to be passed up the chain until it has reached a person who can deal with the situation. The last step in that chain is the Commandant, who has authority over all matters in ROTTWEILER. 

There are very few times one is allowed to bypass any part of the chain.

If your immediate superior is the problem (i.e. you have a complaint against the Section Leader, for example) you skip to the next link in your chain of command.

If the situation is of a severe nature (harassment or abuse in ANY form) you may go directly to the Divisional Officer.

These occurrences go directly to the Commandant of ROTTWEILER, who will give strong consideration to the situation and arrange for trials. 

Let's start our way at the bottom and work up!

• Cadet: The Cadets in the division are at the bottom of the chain. They are busy doing their unit-related tasks and have no major responsibilities outside of that. They are also viewed as being at the top as well, because without the cadets, we wouldn't have a Regiment!

• Section Leader: A Section Leader is the person who is directly responsible for the cadets. They will email cadets from time to time to see who is active, pass on messages and relay orders from higher up on the chain. They are the first person you speak to.

• Divisional Senior NCO: A division is made up of 2 or 3 sections. The Divisional Senior NCO is second-in-charge of a Division, and is the superior of all Section Leaders. The Divisional NCO works directly with the Divisional Officer as well as the Corps Senior NCO.

• Divisional Officer: The DivO is the officer in charge of your division. He or she ensures that all the paperwork is done including monthly reports and evaluations. They will be the one who helps mentor Senior NCOs and reports to the Executive Officer.

• Corps Senior NCO: Somewhere in the mix is the CSNCO. The CSNCO is the most senior Non Commissioned Officer in the Corps. He or she is the Commandant's representative to the NCOs, as well as the NCOs' representative to the Wardroom/Officers Mess. The CSNCO also helps to ensure that all Divisional Senior NCOs are running at maximum efficiency and assist where possible.

• Executive Officer: The XO is the second in command of the ROTTWEILER. Should the Commandant ever have to leave, the XO assumes command of the Corps until the Cmdt comes back. The XO is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Corps and reports to the Cmdt. He or she is also ultimately responsible for discipline within the Corps.

• Commandant: The Cmdt is the elected leader of ROTTWEILER. He or she holds authority over all things in the Training Team/Regiment. Lets just say, if you're ever in his office, and not getting a medal, just pack your bags right now! The Commandant provides the Corps direction, and uses his or her term to put in place a vision for ROTTWEILER that will hopefully allow it to progress and grow. The Cmdt is also responsible for the traditions of the Corps, and ensuring that our history lives on!