Definition
The region of the power required curve at airspeeds above the speed for minimum power required (L/Dmax region), where flying faster requires more power and flying slower requires less power. In this regime, the airplane is speed-stable: pitching the nose down to a lower pitch attitude results in a higher airspeed, and pitching up results in a lower airspeed, with thrust held constant.
Plain English
The normal speed range where slowing down needs less power and speeding up needs more power. Most flying happens here, and the airplane behaves the way pilots expect — push the nose down to go faster, raise it to slow down.
Context Anchor
Seen in slow flight, pitch-and-power discussions, and explanations of how elevator inputs affect airspeed and power needs.
Derivation
Called the 'front side' because on a graph of power required versus airspeed, this region sits to the right of the curve's low point — the side most pilots operate on most of the time. 'Front' here means the normal, expected operating side, not a physical location on the airplane.
Why Pilots Care
This is the normal operating region where pitch attitude primarily controls airspeed and throttle controls altitude or climb rate.
Grounding Statement
At normal cruise or a typical higher approach speed, the airplane is usually on the front side of the power required curve.
Intuition Check
“Front side” does not mean the nose end of the airplane or the beginning of a maneuver. Here it means the higher-speed side of a graph, where more speed requires more power.
Example Sentence 1
During cruise and most maneuvering, the airplane is operating on the front side of the power required curve, so lowering the nose increases airspeed as expected.
Example Sentence 2
When on the front side of the power required curve, a small pitch change mainly affects airspeed while power controls climb or descent.