-
Asked by Bobby on 3 Jul 2024.
Question: How do aeroplanes stay in the sky?
- Keywords:
-
Sheridan Williams answered on 3 Jul 2024:
I asked AI that question and after checking that it was a good answer here is what it said:
Airplanes stay in the sky thanks to a fascinating principle called lift. Here’s how it works:
Wings and Lift:
Airplanes have specially shaped wings that generate lift as the plane moves forward.
Lift is an upward, vertical force that opposes the plane’s weight and keeps it airborne.
The curved shape of the wing creates different air pressures above and below it.
Bernoulli’s Principle:
As air flows over the wing, it moves faster over the curved upper surface.
According to Bernoulli’s principle, faster-moving air has lower pressure.
So, the higher pressure below the wing pushes the plane upward.
Angle of Attack:
Pilots adjust the angle of attack (the angle between the wing and the oncoming air).
A greater angle increases lift, but too much can cause a stall (loss of lift).
Thrust and Drag:
Engines provide forward thrust, allowing the plane to move through the air.
Drag (air resistance) opposes this motion but is overcome by thrust.
Gravity and Weight:
Gravity pulls the plane downward (its weight).
Lift counters this force, keeping the plane aloft.
In summary, it’s the combination of wing shape, air pressure, and precise control that allows airplanes to defy gravity and soar through the skies!
-
Luke Humphrey answered on 3 Jul 2024:
Not an aeroplane engineer but my understanding is that a plane’s wings act as something called an “airfoil”, which generate an upward lift as they travel horizontally through the air.
In short, the shape of the airfoil splits the air in front of it such that it takes the air longer to go around one way than the other. This creates a difference in the air pressure on the top and bottom of the wing.
It helps to consider that the air is a fluid, it’s full of particles even at that altitude. At a particle level, you’ve essentially got more air particles pushing up from the bottom of the wing than the pushing down on the top.
The plane’s engines keep it thrusting horizontally, to counter the air resistance from the direction of travel, but the upwards force is generated by the airfoils.
-
Steve Potterill answered on 3 Jul 2024:
Two main elements to this (mostly regarding the aircraft’s wings when in motion):
1) the airflow hitting the aircraft is deflected downwards by the wings, so the wings are therefore pushed upwards.
2) The dissimilar shapes of the upper and lower surfaces of the wings (think about the wing shape as seen from the side) create lower pressure on the top (Bernoulli effect), so the difference in pressure between the surfaces creates lift.
(Also, you can have ‘vectored thrust’ (for example a Harrier jump jet or modern fighter jets like F-22A Raptor) where the engines turn to push thrust downwards, thus pushing the aircraft upwards.
-
Neil Barnby answered on 4 Jul 2024:
Not really my specialism but basically as the air travels across the top and bottom of the wings, the air travels faster over the top of the wing, this create lower pressure on top of the wing than on the bottom. This difference in pressure lifts the wing into the air. So you could say the wing is sucked up into the air.
-
Ravindu Ranaweera answered on 9 Jul 2024:
There are 2 theories which Steve has explained. But for both you need airflow to pass over the wing sections and for this you need some sort of thrust as well (to push the aircraft).
Comments