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How does an airplane fly? – All about Aircraft
Reference Section @ BillDoll.com – The Billion Dollar Site
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How does an airplane fly?
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Main Sections @ The Billion Dollar Site
For all aircraft related questions see the All about Aircraft section.
How does an airplane fly?
Lift is the aerodynamic force that counteracts gravity and holds an airplane in the air. Most of the lift required by an airplane is created by its wings, but a certain portion is also generated by other parts of the aircraft, such as the fuselage. But what actually causes the lift to be created?
First, understand that air is a fluid, just like water, and that all fluids adhere to the same physical and mathematical principles. Next, realize that lift can only be generated when a fluid is in motion. For example, a wing must be passing through the air or the air must be moving around a stationary wing, one or the other. (The way it usually happens is that the wing is doing most of the moving, although the air may be moving too, at the same time.)
Most airplane wings have a special, basic shape as viewed edge-on: their upper surfaces are curved and their lower surfaces are flatter. This shape is what works with the fluid motion of the air to create lift. As air moves around a wing, some goes over the top and some goes underneath. The air that goes over the curved upper surface undergoes two important changes: it is reduced in pressure (by the centrifugal force of flowing across the curved surface) and it is accelerated downward (as it leaves the trailing edge of the wing). The wing is forced into the region of reduced air pressure above the upper surface of the wing by the higher air pressure beneath the wing. Also, the downward acceleration of the air (downwash) at the trailing edge forces the wing upward.
Since lift is dependant on the motion of the air, it increases as the speed of the air increases. Lift also increases (to a point) as the angle that the wing makes with the airflow (known as the angle of attack) increases. Past a certain point, however, increased angle of attack will cause the wing to suddenly lose its lifting ability, or stall.
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