Inputs
Geometry, conditions
and event times
A METHOD FOR EXPLORING
Change one thing.
Follow the consequence.
Use the laboratory to connect a control, a physical mechanism and a result. The guidance below is a route through an experiment, with no quiz or score.
Balances
Declared equations,
assumptions and bounds
Responses
Calculated curves,
indications and motion
An attractive animation is a way to explain a model. Check the page notes to see which quantities are calculated and which visual details are schematic.
SIX PRACTICAL STEPS
Make the comparison meaningful.
Start from a known case
Use Reset or a named demonstration. Read the units and model limits before moving a control. If a page is observational, use its scenario selector and playback controls.
Choose what stays fixed
Equal incidence and equal lift are different comparisons. So are fixed turbine inlet temperature and fixed thrust. Keep the selected comparison constraint visible.
Keep a reference
Where available, save the baseline as A. Change B and compare at the same time or condition. Named A/B demonstrations may change several inputs together; inspect their settings first.
Trace cause before response
Pause just before an event, then follow the first quantity that changes. Continue to the slower response. A control command, a sensor indication and the true aircraft state need not move together.
Read the balance
Connect the response to its equation card. Check the sign convention, reference frame and units. Follow both mass and energy when a system exchanges air, fuel, heat or shaft work.
Keep the result in its domain
A stopped trace or rejected state is a model boundary to investigate. Do not continue a curve mentally past a stall assumption, pressure limit or small-disturbance range. Export the setup and traces where provided.
FIRST CHECK WHAT THE CLOCK MEANS
Three different kinds of experiment.
Steady design point
A new setting produces another equilibrium or design. Moving flow markers do not imply that engine acceleration or fluid transients have been solved.
Explore the gas-turbine cycle ↗Calculated transient
Storage and inertia introduce time. Compare event timing, time constants and common-clock A/B traces. Check whether the time axis is seconds or a non-dimensional variable.
Explore engine transients ↗Scripted observation
A prepared sequence illustrates a mechanism or procedure. Its motion is not necessarily a solved flight trajectory or operational prediction.
Observe the airport ↗TRY A CONNECTION
Four useful starting points.
GEOMETRY → LOADING
Wing shape and equal-lift comparison ↗
Separate the effect of geometry from the effect of carrying a different lift.
ONE ENGINE → TWO NEEDSBleed air and cabin cooling ↗
Follow extraction, shaft work, heat rejection and cabin storage.
MEASUREMENT → CONTROLAir-data errors and real motion ↗
Distinguish a false indication from the aircraft response it causes.
SOURCE LOSS → RESERVEElectrical supply and load shedding ↗
Trace current paths and the cost of keeping additional loads supplied.