Physics of Flight Essay
For thousands of years, our ancestors have dreamt of flight. Bird flew the sky, there must be some science behind there that I can use to let humans fly, our ancestors were undoubtedly thinking. It was the commitment of these amazing men and women that allows us to fly higher, faster, and safer.
Birds and many insects have used the method of flight for many, many years, for fast travel and mere survival. There are 3 variables when it comes to flight, drag, lift and trust. Birds use their wings and their weight as trust, gravity pulls them down and when they flap their wings there are pushed forward. Their tale is used for drag, giving them control over steering and speed. The shape of the wings of birds produces lift, pushing the animal up.
Drag – Drag is a force exerted on an object moving through a fluid or gas. In a bird’s case, it’s gas. Drag occurs when there is a collision between the bird and the air (the object and the air).
It is the exchange in moment which changing the speed of movement. For example. When walking against a strong wind, there is drag made when the momentum of the object (human) and the fluid or air (strong wind) collide creating a force moving the opposite direction of the object. In terms of aeroplanes, the drag is the tail.
Lift – Lift is a force pushing perpendicular to the drag. Its relies of the gravity pulling the object down, but the angle of the wing or object causing lift forces the object up. When the area of the wing or object causing lift is greater, the object flies higher. In terms of aeroplanes, the lift is the wings.
The Essay on Angle Of Attack Lift Wing Air
Airflow over an airfoil Flight is one of the most important achievements of mankind. We owe this achievement to the invention of the airfoil and understanding the physics that allow it to lift enormous weights into the sky. All flight is the result of forces acting upon the wings of an airplane that allow it to counteract gravity. Contrary to popular belief, the Bernoulli principle is not ...
Thrust – Thrust, in a bird, is produced by wing flapping. Thrust is a force pushing in the direction of the animal’s flight, opposing the drag’s force. The object must produce enough thrust the equal the amount of drag. This will give the object a steady flight.
In terms of aeroplanes the thrust is either the propeller/s or the jet engine.
It might seem to be impossible that something so large and heavy as a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, or any other fixed wing aircraft, can have even the slightest hope of achieving flight. Sure, it makes sense that a helicopter can lift off…it’s basically a really strong fan pointed down! With airplanes it’s a bit more complicated.
What comes into play when an airplane takes flight is something called Bernoulli’s Principle. Bernoulli’s Principle is a concept that applies to all fluid motion, including both gasses and liquids, that relates pressure, density, velocity, height change, and gravity in an easily derivable formula.
When applying Bernoulli’s Principle to airplanes, it’s found that because of the shape of the wing, the air passing over the wing is moving faster than the air moving under the wing. Through calculations of Bernoulli’s equations, we can prove that because of this difference in velocities, the pressure above the wings is lower than the pressure below the wings. This difference in pressures causes the plane to be pushed up in the air towards the area of lower pressure created by the plane’s wings. This is what creates the “lift” that supports the plane in flight.
As long as this pressure difference is sustained, the plane can remain in the air, which means as long as the plane is moving forward, it will fly.
Drag is essential in flight to compete against the force of the trust. This keeps the airplane steady and safe. Drag is used on the tail of an airplane to control the steering, whether the plane is going up or down, and speed. The drag force is not only used on the tail of an airplane, but also on the wings, and flaps. These flaps move up or down according to which direction the pilot wants to turn.
The Essay on Plane Bob Flight Day
Creative Story: The Crash It was a calm sunny day in mid-January as Bob climbed into his plane togo for a late afternoon flight over the mountains. He started the engine and it gave a weak squeal as it turned over. Bob thought nothing of this as it happens when it is cold out, but it was more than he could ever know. He taxied his plane to the end of the runway and applied full power. The plane ...
The flaps work by putting a small area on the wing at a different angle to the rest of the wing, therefore creating more lift and drag if the flap is pointing down and less lift and drag on the flap that is pointing up. Thus, tilting the plane to one side, making it turn. If the left wing’s flap is down and the right wing’s flap is up then the plane will tilt to the right, and if the left wing’s flap is up and the right wing’s flap is down then the plane will tilt to the left. Is neither are up nor down, then the plane will stay steady.
Originally thrust on airplanes was produced by propellers, which were shaped to that they push the air around it back, creating thrust. But in more recent times, people have been using jet engines to produce thrust. Jet engines work by sucking in air around it and then pushing it out at an amazing speed, therefore pushing the plane forward.
Bumblebees fly all around to collect pollen, but how do they fly? They have a huge body mass compared to their wings. They fly much like a helicopter, with out the big blades. On each side of their body they have 2 small wings, they flap these wings much like a bird but at an astonishing speed, this pushes air down, therefore pushing the bumblebee up. They completely defy the physic of flight, but they still manage to do it.
Humans have dreamt of flight for thousand and thousands of years, but only in the last 200 or so has this dream become a reality. It is truly a privilege to live in such an advanced time.
