can aircraft halts in midair?

Answer 1

Obviously helicopters can. Fixed-wing airplanes generally cannot. The harrier has been mentioned already. Then there's the high wind / slow stall speed catch, but that doesn't really count in my book. It's still moving relative to the air.

It is possible for a conventional airplane to halt, if it has enough thrust. In order for a 3,000 lb airplane to stay in the air, it needs 3000 pounds of force opposite gravity. That can be lift, thrust, or any combination thereof. So, if you have an airplane that weighs 3000 lbs and is capable of producing 3000 lbs of thrust, theoretically you could hover it. Control would be a problem, since all of your control surfaces depend on airflow, so you couldn't stay in that state for very long, unless you had some sort of thrust vectoring system, or all of the necessary control surfaces were in the accelerated slipstream of the prop/jet/whatever.


Go to an airshow and watch some of the high-powered acrobatic airplanes, they do many maneuvers where they nearly hover, but not quite. They don't have enough thrust to truly do it.

Answer 2

The JSF or Joint Strike Fighter, also known as the F-22 Raptor has vertical takeoff and landing capability which may also be used to hover in midair. It is also equipped with a "thrust vectoring system" that helps the aircraft remain stable while hovering. I believe there are two small jet engine nozzles at the front of the aircraft and the Jet nozzle on the tail (the name evades me at the moment) pivots down to provide the majority of the upward thrust.

wow. that was dull.

sorry folks

Answer 3

Of course helicopters and VTOL aircraft can.

As for a traditional fixed-wing airplane, yes it is possible. As somebody already mentioned, an airplane can remain motionless for a split second during a climbing stall...if done perfectly and doesn't "fall over" till the end of the climb.

Theoretically, an airplane can remain motionless relative to the ground when its airspeed equals the wind aloft airspeed. Let's say you're heading due-east (090 degrees) in a Cessna 172 at exactly 100 knots. If the winds aloft are exactly from the due-east (090 degrees) at 100 knots...the airplane will stay in the same place over the ground...although the aircraft is still "flying" through the air at 100 knots.

Put simply, if you have a headwind that equals exactly your airspeed...you're not getting anywhere fast. Now if you make a U-turn, your airspeed will still read 100 knots...but then you'd be traveling over the ground at 200 knots...because now you have a 100 knot TAILwind.

Answer 4

There are currently the Harrier, the Osprey, and the Joint Strike Fighter, as well as some experimental aircraft from the 50s and 60s that are or were designed to be able to stop in midair.

Answer 5

Sure - a helicopter can hover motionless.

Some military jets produce more thrust than they weigh, so they can hover on their tail, pointiing straight up.

Some fixed-wing aircraft are able to stay motionless or even move backwards, if their stall speed is low enough and the windspeed high enough. I know pilots who have flown into a headwind, and been actually moving backards relative to the ground.

VTOL aircraft like the Harrier can take off and hover briefly in one spot. It takes a lot of energy to do this, and they tend to overheat if they remain there, so you don't see it often.

Answer 6

for a split second before they fall.
Forward velocity is required in order to maintain altitude.
Choppers are, of course, different. They can hover, which is like 'halting' in midair.

Answer 7

Depending on the windspeed and the stall speed of the aircraft, its even possible to fly backwards.

Answer 8

only a harrier jump jet(uk raf-royal air force)"falklands war uk vs argentinia 1981 era"
and helicopter's as far as i know.
can do this.oh yeh james bond and mickey
jackson have used a smaller same idea
gadjet on their backs to fly around and hover mid-air
aswell.

Answer 9

The tilt-rotor, helicopters, Harrier jets, and blimps can stop in mid-air.

Answer 10

No they cant otherwise they would come down like a stone