Two types of climb will be considered. The first is the so-called steady climb. This is a climb in which the all acceleration components (i.e. parallel and perpendicular to the flight-path) are assumed negligible. Then, we consider the case of climb with acceleration which is particularly relevant to the analysis of high-performance aircraft.
In a steady climb, the forces of lift, drag, thrust, and weight are in balance. The flight-path angle, denoted γ, is the angle between the inertial velocity vector and the horizontal plane. It is assumed that the thrust acts along the flight path, i.e. parallel to V.