How does an aeroplane remain in the air?

Question

How is it possible for such a heavy thing to remain in the clouds?

Answer 1

Stated simply, bernoulli's principle states that a fluid in motion has a lesser pressure that a stationary fluid.

The airplane wing is shaped in such a way that air over the top of the wing flows faster thus there is more pressure under the wings, which lifts the airplane up by the wings.

That;s why the plane needs to be moving at a certain speed for there to be sufficient lift.

Answer 2

John R is correct and you Bernoulli's principle people are all wrong.

An airplane flies because it pushes air downward. Air is pushed downward as a function of the angle of attack of the wing. If this were not true and Bernoulli's principle were correct, then inverted flight would not be possible and symmetrical airfoils would not work. I've seen both inverted flight and aircraft with symmetrical airfoils that fly just fine, so something's wrong here. The picture that they always show in science books where it has curved lines of air going over the top of the wing and straight lines of air going under the wing is actually a zero lift condition and a wing under those conditions will simply not fly. Also, when they explain that the air flows faster over the top of the wing and recombines with the slower air that flows under the wing -- no it doesn't, it never recombines. This is a common misconception spread by science books that are just flat wrong!

Answer 3

The answer above that speaks of "negative pressure" is wrong.

There is no such thing as "negative pressure"

Instead, Bernoulli's principle states that as the velocity of a fluid increases, the pressure exerted by that fluid decreases.

So, since the wing is curved on the top and flat on the bottom, the air moving over the wing is moving faster than the air under the wing. This means that there's less pressure exerted on the top of the wing than there is on the bottom of the wing. This difference in pressure is what causes lift.

Answer 4

The only thing necessary to keep a plane up in the air, is for it to push enough air down. Newton's third law of motion states that when one object (the air) exerts an unbalanced force upon a second object (the plane), the second object (the plane) exerts an equal but opposite force upon the first (the air). The order may be reversed if you please.
This is why planes can fly upside down by increasing the "angle of attack" of the wing..
The shape of the wing increases the efficiency of flight.

Answer 5

Very simply, the wings are shaped in a way that creates "lift," the pulling up of the wing because the air travels more quickly over the top of the wing than over the bottom. That's why the wings are curved on top and pretty flat on the bottom.

Answer 6

It has to do with the shape of the cross-section of the wing and a thing called 'Bernoullis Principle'. As long as there is air moving across the wing, there is a negative pressure developed on the top of the wing and a net force 'upwards' which holds the plane in the air.

Doug

Answer 7

according to the Bernoulli's equ. there is a reverse relationship between the velocity and pressure. increasing the velocity of air on top of the wings due to its shape will cause the air pressure decrease on it . so the air pressure on lower part of the wings is More than on top of them therefore the airplane will lift. and stands on the air.

Answer 8

You see the aeroplane wings are flat,right???
It gives the plane lift and the lift supports the plane.

Answer 9

Magic