can an aeroplance 'stand' (!) in the air i.e., be stationary in the air? like trains waiting for clearance ?!

Question

the argument started because when u are in a vehicle moving opposite the speeding aeroplane, it appears to be stationary. just to clear a doubt tho' it seems ridiculous !

Answer 1

It is not rediculous at all.

Yes it is possible. I have thought about this one sometime ago myself. Nothing is rediculous - just because someone does not understand the concept or does not know how to go about it, that may sound rediculous to them.

Walt Disney characters, Bill Gates' Operating system, KFC when Colonel tried to sell it, Graham Bell's idea of people can talk to another over the wires all sounded rediculous at the time.

Here is one: (don't laugh): Building an elevator to the moon. Yup, an elevator. You want to know something? The scientists are serious about it. You might have heard of Nanotechnology. Using the nanotubes, they think it is entirely possible to build an elevator.

Back to your question: You know VTOL? Vertical Takeoff and Landing.... with that - the plane is stationary. Your idea is possible. STOL, a cousin of Vtol, (S for Short), is an earlier idea to vtol.

So, do not snuff your idea. It is ENTIRELY POSSIBLE.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Well you may be talking about "Holding patterns" There are designated areas on routes to airports that are for "holding " aircraft waiting for clearance to land. They don't hold in a stationary position though. It is more like a circular pattern where they fly around in circles until they receive a clearance to approach, & land. When there are several aircraft waiting in the same area, they have them hold at different altitudes. Thus the term of having aircraft "stacked up" in the holding pattern.

Now if you are asking if an aircraft other than a helicopter can remain stationary relative to the ground, the answer is yes, it is possible under the right conditions.

I have done it myself while flying a Cessna 150 with a 50 knot headwind. All I had to do was turn my aircraft into the wind, & slow my airspeed down to 50 knots, & there I was standing still relative to the ground. I went a step further & lowered my flaps for safety, & let my airspeed drop back to 45 knots, & now I was moving backwards at 5 knots.
I only got to do it the one time. It's not that often we like to go flying in a Cessna 150 with the winds up at 50 knots. But it's possible.

Hope that settles your argument.

Answer 3

There isn't anything you can really do to prepare for the mind game that is Basic Training. It is going to suck. The first week will probably be the worst of your life (unless your home life is messed up and you are used to it, and if so sorry to hear that). Just prepare yourself for that. Try and lay low, that's the best advice I can give you. You don't want to stand out in the first week or two. Basic sucks but it's designed to, just get through it; don't give up. You should be fine on the physical training side. You just need to be able to do 45 push ups and 55 sit ups in a minute each, and run less than a 12 minute mile and a half.

Answer 4

Yes, it's possible. Helicopters can hover (remain stationary in the air), as everybody knows. But even some of the fixed wing aircraft can hover, for example, VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) aircraft like Harrier (a British military aircraft) and its variants.

Most aircraft generate lift (force acting vertically upward due to pressure difference on the top and bottom surfaces of the wing) when they are in motion relative to air. This lift balances the weight and the aircraft can fly. But as I said, the aircraft has to be in motion for this. A stationery aircraft has no lift to balance the weight and it remains on the ground.

However, in an aircraft like Harrier, a the exhaust of the engine can be made to change its direction (which is not possible in most common aircraft). This is called thrust vectoring. Thus, when the engine exhaust is directed backwards, it flies like a normal aircraft. It is also possible to direct the exhaust vertically downwards by rotating the exhaust nozzle. When this is done, the reaction tends to act against the weight. If the downward thrust is increased, the aircraft can move vertically upward like a helicopter. By suitably adjusting the thrust, such aircraft can hover in the air.

Answer 5

It is quite possible because of certain factors. To begin with, is it "opposite" or SAME direction? I guess it should be the same direction!

As an answerer above said, the wind factors would make ground speeds closer to zero.

Or if you are travelling in the same direction as the aircraft (or near same) the velocity component of the aircraft in your vehicle's direction would be almost same and you will find it to be stationary. That would be simple relative velocity phenomenon.

If it appears to be stable and is not a VTOL craft then the effects are due to the what is mentioned above or combinations thereof. No matter what the groundspeed appears to be, its airspeed will be well above stall speed and that makes it perfectly logical.

Answer 6

Absolutely. But vertically, not like the Harrier, which hovers horizontally. A friend flies one for a local college. It's a Sukhoi 29, with enough hp to become an elevator in mid air, with the right pilot, of course. In fact, he hovers, then descends down to about a foot above the ground, then simply increases manifold pressure, and flies straight up. It's really awesome to watch!

Answer 7

It is possible, at least for small aircraft. If the windspeed at altitude is fast enough and the stall speed on the aircraft is low enough then point the nose into the wind, setup for slow flight and in theory, (and practice) you can begin to go backwards, or even "hover" if you get the power setting just right. Other than that airplanes just cant stop in the air.

Answer 8

Small light planes have a stall speed between 40 and 70mph, ultralights less than that. If the wind is blowing faster than the stall speed the plane can fly into the wind and stand still relative to the ground. A couple of really over powered stunt planes exist that can hover flying strait up.

Answer 9

Sorry, but I'm going in a different direction with this...

I've seen an F18 fly extremely slow in high pitch up attitude. Let's say his speed was 70 or 80 knots, for an example. I'm not even sure he was traveling that fast.

If he was heading into a steady high wind doing the same maneuver, he could conceivably stand still as far as ground speed is concerned.

Answer 10

Helicopters can obviously stand still in the air. Moreover, there are some VTOL aircrafts e.g. Hawker Harrier, US AV-8V(a variant of Harrier), Russian Yakolev Yak-38 Forger, Yak -141 etc. which can also be stay stationary in the air.