The Aerodynamics properties group describes the aircraft's aerodynamic performance using one of several broad strategies.
External Aero File
The External Aero File strategy uses aerodynamic data supplied by an .aero file.
The File Path field displays the currently selected file; click 
to browse to the file that you want to use. You can review the data in the file by selecting from a variety of data plots available from the drop-down menu at the upper right of the window. You can use the Altitude and Mach Numbers properties to adjust the range of data that is displayed in the plots. Select Show Legend to display a legend for the plot lines.
Click Create Copy... to save a copy of the file to your catalog file area, which is the default location that Aviator opens when you select an .aero file to use.
Subsonic Aerodynamics
The Subsonic Aerodynamics strategy models an aircraft that generally travels at subsonic speeds and therefore does not often experience air compression.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Wing Geometry | Defines the wingspan and aspect ratio of the aircraft's wings. Select Basic Geometry to define the static properties of an immovable wing, or Variable Geometry to define the minimum and maximum properties of an adjustable wing. |
| Max Angle of Attack | Defines the maximum angle of attack possible. |
| Low Speed Parasite Drag Coefficient | Defines the parasitic drag coefficient of the aircraft when flying at a speed less than the Mach Divergence. Click Drag... to open a drag calculation tool that can be used to define this property. |
| Mach Divergence | Defines the speed at which the aircraft begins to experience air compression, at which point the Transonic Mach Drag Factor is applied to the parasitic drag coefficient. |
| Transonic Mach Drag Factor | Defines a scalar value applied to the aircraft's parasitic drag coefficient when it is flying faster than the Mach Divergence. |
Supersonic Aerodynamics
The Supersonic Aerodynamics strategy models an aircraft that generally travels at supersonic speeds and therefore frequently experiences air compression.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Wing Geometry | Defines the wingspan and aspect ratio of the aircraft's wings. Select Basic Geometry to define the static properties of an immovable wing, or Variable Geometry to define the minimum and maximum properties of an adjustable wing. |
| Show Template Drag Profile | Aviator provides a selection of example drag profiles that you can use to compare to the current property settings. Select a template from the drop-down menu to display its drag profile alongside the currently defined profile. Click Apply Template to use the values in the displayed template to define the drag properties. |
| Max Angle of Attack | Defines the maximum angle of attack possible. |
| Subsonic Parasite Drag Coefficient | Defines the parasitic drag coefficient of the aircraft when flying at a speed less than the Mach Divergence. Click Drag... to open a drag calculation tool that can be used to define this property. |
| Transonic Min Mach | Defines the minimum speed at which the aircraft begins to experience air compression. |
| Transonic Max Mach | Defines the maximum speed, below supersonic, at which the aircraft experiences transonic air compression. |
| Transonic Mach Drag Factor | Defines a scalar value applied to the aircraft's parasitic drag coefficient when it is flying between the Transonic Min Mach and Transonic Mach Drag Factor speeds. |
| Supersonic Max Mach | Defines the speed at which the Supersonic Mach Drag Factor is applied. |
| Supersonic Mach Drag Factor | Defines a scalar value applied to the aircraft's parasitic drag coefficient when it is flying faster than the Supersonic Max Mach. |
| Leading Edge Suction Efficiency | Defines the ability of the wing's leading edge to ingest turbulent airflow and thereby reduce induced drag. A high suction efficiency will lower induced drag for the aircraft. |
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