Can the Aircraft stay still in the air?

Answer 1

No reason why not, unless it runs out of fuel or the engine(s) quit.

Answer 2

Alot of worng answers. Aircraft can stay "still" over the ground. Any aircraft can do it provided that the speed of the air travelling over the wing is above the the speed required to take-off. Think of an aircraft sitting on the ground facing into the wind. If that aircraft requires 50 Knots Airspeed to take off, it will lift off the ground when the wind speed reaches 50 knots. Same thing applies in the air. If the aircraft is travelling at 90 Knots Airspeed and it has a head wind of 90 Knots, it would be "still" over the ground. This does not happen often but in a light aircraft like a cessna 152 you can slow the aircraft down in a strong headwind and it will look like it is standing still or sometimes moving backwards.

Answer 3

No An aircraft cannot stay still in the air as the lift and thrust is provided by the wings when it is moving at a certain speed. Whereas in a helicopter this is provided by the Rotor Blades.
To Know why aircraft cannot stay still like a helicopter go to the following link
http://travel.howstuffworks.com/helicopter.htm

Answer 4

Yes, many aircraft can maintain a relative point above the ground while staying in flight.

Most small GA aircraft and all light sport or ultralight aircraft have stall speeds in the low 40 mph range or less. If the winds aloft are greater than the planes stall speed the pilot can aim the plane into the headwind and hold a relative position above the ground.

It's even possible for an aircraft to move backwards if the headwind is strong enough. I have done it many times and it's an interesting feeling seeing the groung move slowly backwards under you....

Answer 5

Correct... Several people mentioned the fact of flying into a headwind, and some mentioned the Harrier. I'm surprised nobody answered the Joint Strike Fighter F-35 which is in production as we speak, same idea as the Harrier, except that it doesn't have thrust vectoring, it has an entirely separate system dedicated to VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing), this can also "stay still" as a helicopter.

Answer 6

The answer is simply a big NO for a fixed wing aircraft. Harrier is an exception coz of the thrust vectoring without which even the Harrier can't stay up.

Answer 7

to answer this only way it can stay still in the air if the wind blows fast enough over the wing to cause the lift needed to allow it to lift. But only small aircraft may be able to do that but bigger airplanes like Boeing and Gulfstream need more than 150 MPH to lift in the air.

Answer 8

tim has the right idea!

Yes helicopters are designed to sustain "0" airspeed flight.

But, light airplanes can also slow down and essentially hover if there is enough wind to hold it there. For instance, If a small cessna were to encounter a wind of 40 kts or more it could slow down, pitch up and essentially be hovering. The pilot must be carefull at speeds this slow, because if the wind is not quite what it needs to be or MCA is not maintained the plane might stall. (minimum cruising airspeed)

It works best if there is around 50kts of wind. when you complete the trick you can actually look down and see that you are not moving or better yet....moving backwards!

Answer 9

Sure. Haven't you heard of air brakes? *grin*

Seriously though, with a small plane flying at say, 60 miles per hour into a 60 mile an hour head wind, from the ground it would appear to be still in the air.

Yes, cruising speed of a Piper J-3 is 60 mph.

Answer 10

Easy.
Just have a high wind day. For example, if you have winds up to 200 knots, a 737 will lift into the air with no pressure at all. No fuel. No nothing.

Answer 11

all good answers, almost... I have seen a video of an aircraft doing just that. It's out there. Maybe http://www.flyingmag.com/ can help.