How Airplanes FlyJonathan De La Cruz

Quan Nguyen

Vectors – Concepts such as thrust, drag, lift and weight all have direction and magnitude.

Forces – The above mentioned concepts are all forces that help or oppose motion in the directions. Newton’s Laws

Gravitation – The forces of gravity and weight play a big role in maintaining flight.

Energy – Engines must use potential and kinetic energy to actually form motion. Heat is also a key component in engines to start combustion and create thrust.

Physics Related Concepts

Physicists’ definition of fluids includes both liquids and gases.

They are classified under the same mathematic relationships.

Our atmosphere contains enough fluid for it to be considered under fluid mechanics.

Intro: Fluid Mechanics

Forces: Thrust and Drag

Thrust Can be caused by a

propeller or engine. Pushes an object towards a desired location.

Drag The “friction” of flight,

opposes movement of an object in motion in a fluid.

For flight to take place, thrust must be equal to or greater than drag. An increase in drag causes the plane to slow down

Forces: Weight and Lift

Weight Product of both mass

and acceleration due to gravity.

Lift Opposes weight

through the use of wings, or airfoil.

Exists only in presence of a moving fluid.

Occurs when a moving fluid is deflected by any solid object.

Wings are designed so that air over the wing travels faster than air under the wing, allowing for an increase in speed.

Newton’s Third Law supports the idea that if wings create a force, there is an equal force on the wind.

Landing and Take Off

Greater angles = more lift, smaller angles = less lift.

Wings must divert enough air to create sufficient lift.

Landings and take off

require a drastic change in speed.

Flaps on wings are released to create more lift. (Increases drag though, so take off requires more thrust.)

Slats perform the same task, but are located on the front, not the rear.

Lift requires power, as the air below the wings is given energy. Power is supplied by the planes engine.

The power needed to lift the plane is proportional to the mass and the vertical velocity of the air.

“Induced” power is used to overcome weight, “parasitic” power Is used to overcome drag.

Lift and Power

To create the necessary thrust, plane engines must consider Newton’s Third Law.

Air enters and is compressed and forced into combustion chambers where fuel is added to the mixture and combustion occurs, creating thrust.

Fans may be used to add additional thrust to the object, creating more motion.

Engines

We now grasp the difficulty of applying several aspects to flight that must be accounted for to maintain flight.

We understand the effect of forces on our everyday life and how they account into our travels.

We understand that every part of the plane is vital and useful and necessary for safe take offs and landings.

We know that a powerful engine plays a huge role in creating the necessary thrust.

Insight

http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/airplanes.htm

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blhowajetengineworks.htm

http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/fltmidfly.htm http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/airflylvl3.htm

References