Helping learners understand the Four Forces that balance an aeroplane

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I updated the Four Forces component interactive component this week - the 3D component that helps learners see the four forces balancing an aeroplane in flight in real-time.

Here’s a screenshot - click on it to view the actual 3D scene that you can manipulate and fly:

This component was actually the first one which I created at the start of the year, so it was fun to come back and see what I could improve (I need it for my next briefing on steep turns).

What I changed

I updated so the aeroplane itself is translucent by default, which allows…
Using the one true scale for all four forces (rather than exaggerating thrust and drag as is done in most text books) - thrust is really only a fraction of the weight;
I enabled each arrow to start where its force actually acts - lift high in the wing, thrust at the propeller etc., which also enables
grey lines extending those lines of actions into a moment quadrilateral that becomes a neat rectangle in straight and level flight. This makes the pitching couples visible.

You can brief straight and level flight, the climb, the glide, the stall and (with the banking control enabled) turns, all against the same aircraft. The speeds are configurable per aircraft — never-exceed, normal operating and stall speeds, plus a nominal cruise — so the gauges and 3D model can match the aeroplane your students actually fly.

Try it out

Have a play with the live Four Forces component on the components site. That page also documents the attributes for pointing it at your own aircraft model and calibrating the speeds, so with a little bit of html/web skills you can tailor it to the type you brief most often. For an overview of the whole library, see Open Aviation Components.

And, like every Open Aviation Component, it’s free to embed anywhere — your school’s website, a web-based ground briefing, or a slide deck. Improvements to the component flow back to the community under the same licence.

If you build something with it, or have an idea for another component, get in touch — I’d love to hear about it.

A 3D Circuit Diagram component for briefing circuits and joins

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I’ve just been adding a new Circuit Diagram component to the free Open Aviation Components library last week, and I think it’s a great example of a small re-usable and open component that could benefit many aviation briefings. I’ll be updating my own RPL Open Aviation Briefings to use it in many different contexts with different paths.

Here’s an example, but note it’s just a frozen screenshot, click on it to view the actual 3D scene that you can manipulate and fly:

Circuit briefings spend a lot of time on geometry that’s genuinely hard to draw on a whiteboard: where the turns happen, how high you should be on each leg, and how one procedure differs from another against the same runway. A flat plan view loses the altitudes; a side view loses the ground track. This component keeps both — a 3D airfield you can orbit, where each procedure is a coloured ribbon following its own track and climb profile.

Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, and use the legend to show or hide individual procedures so you can study one in isolation or overlay them for comparison. Press play next to a procedure to fly the camera along that track, pausing wherever you’d like to stop and talk something through.

What I like about this one

What I really like is how re-usable it is. A standard circuit, a flapless or glide approach, an overhead join, a mid-field crosswind join, even approach procedures — they’re all just paths against the same runway that can be displayed and labelled. Toggle them in the legend to highlight exactly how different paths differ, and label each leg with its target height in feet so students see the climb and descent profile, not only the ground track.

Similarly, the wind direction and strength can be configured (shown by the windsock), the terrain can be altered (it’s generated using a seed), the runway numbers can be configured to suite a specific scenario.

And, like every Open Aviation Component, it’s free to embed anywhere — your school’s website or a web-based ground briefing or any other web page. Anyone can drop it into their own briefings or slides, adapt the paths to their local aerodrome, and share the result. Improvements to the component itself flow back to the community under the same licence.

Try it out

Have a play with the live Circuit Diagram on the components site. That page also documents the coordinate system and the handful of attributes for defining your own paths, so with a little bit of html/web skills, you can build the joins and approaches you brief most often. For an overview of the whole library, see Open Aviation Components.

If you build something with it, or have an idea for another component, get in touch — I’d love to hear about it.

Open Aviation Solutions | News

Helping learners understand the Four Forces that balance an aeroplane

What I changed

Try it out

A 3D Circuit Diagram component for briefing circuits and joins

What I like about this one

Try it out