how does a plane fly?

Question

im doing a project for maths and we have to find out about air flight. i really dont like the teacher and he doesnt like me so i want to impress to show im better then what he thinks. we have to include things like air pressure and bernoulli's principle but i dont understand any of it, so can anyone help me ?

Answer 1

Hi! I will be happy to help you... first open up google and type in "bernoulli's principle" and when you are finished with that type in the other subjects

Answer 2

Hi! It is my pleasure to help you since I'm on the path to be an aircraft engineer.

First of all, the shape of the wing creates lift. The top of the wing is curved creating more distance for air to travel and making the pressure above the wing lower than below the smooth bottom of the wing. I think you know that all objects move from high pressure to low pressure. That is how an airplane goes up and down.

The propeller in old airplanes or jet engines in modern ones create thrust that either push or pull the airplane forward.

In order for an airplane to climb, the lift force has to be greater than the opposing force of gravity. The opposing force of thrust is known as drag and thrust also has to be greater than drag so the airplane can fly.

To turn, an airplane has ailerons on both wings which go up and down creating less lift on one wing and tipping the airplane over into a roll. The rudder is used for slight adjustments without rolling the airplane. So with the rudder the front and the back move while the center stays in the same place. The elevator is located on the tail and it is moved up and down to make the airplane climb or dive.

Bernoulli's Principle states that if the velocity (speed) of a fluid increases, the pressure of the fluid or exerted by the fluid decreases.

P.S. I'm 13.

Answer 3

Most people who are somewhat familiar with the subject, will give you some kind of arcane, esoteric response about the special "airfoil" shape of the wings, Bernoulli's Principle, and air moving faster over the top of the wings than the bottom causing reduced pressure. Indeed, this is the answer you'll find in most books.

It's also hogwash.

Airplanes fly because of the simple fact that their wings *deflect air downwards*;(due to their "positive angle of attack.")

This is in accordance with Newton's third law: "for every action there is an equal but opposite re-action."

Thus, for the wings to generate upwards lift, they must force a corresponding amount of air downwards. If a wing does not cause a net downwards motion of air, then,(according to the principle of conservation of momentum,) it will not produce lift: *no matter what it shape!* Bernoulli's principle actually has very little to do with it.....

Then, what does the "airfoil" shape have to do with it?

The modern airfoil is the result of a long process of tinkering, experiment, and trial and error, beginning even before the Wright brothers. Aircraft designers may not always get the physics right, but they know when something works and when it doesn't. It turns out, that the airfoil shape produces the least drag, the least turbulence, works well at the most angles of attack, and is least likely to stall. For level flight, though, a curved "comma" shape which you'll find in birds, insects, and hang gliders, may be more efficient at producing lift.

Hope that makes sense,
~W.O.M.B.A.T.

Answer 4

Okay:

Planes have wings with slightly curved wings. The curveature of the wing surfaces makes air traveling over the wing have to take a longer path over the top of the wing than air that goes straight across under the wing. This long path - short path creates suction from a low pressure region on the top of the wing, and up to a certain point, the faster you move this wing through the air, the more suction will be created on top of the wing creating what we call "lift."

At some point, the shape of the wing is such that moving it any faster through the air creates so much turbulence that the lift is destroyed, so any particular wing is only suitable for use within a specified range of air speeds. Generally speaking fat wings do well at low speeds, and thin wings do well at high speeds.

Answer 5

Bernoulli's law says that as the velocity of a gas moving over a surface increases the pressure decreases. The shape of an airplane's wing is called an airfoil. If you look at one you will see that it is curved across the top and straighter at the bottom - this makes the top side of the wing from front to back a longer surface distance. If the airplane moves forward, air moving across the top of the wing has to move a further distance in the same period of time as the air moving across the bottom part of the wing. This results in decreased pressure on the top of the wing relative to the bottom of the wing, creating a vacuum which pulls the wing up.

Answer 6

Lift pushes the plane upward. The wings give planes lift. Air moves under the wings. But, air moves faster on top of the wings. The slower air pushes on the wing more than the faster air. This makes the plane rise.

Weight is Earth's gravity pulling down on a plane. Planes must be built so that there is equal weight in the front and back of the plane. Then the plane will be balanced.
A cartoon dog wearing a flight suit and holding sunglasses
Thrust is the force that moves the plane forward. A propeller pulls a plane forward. A jet engine also pushes a plane.

Drag slows the plane. You can feel drag when you stick your hand out the window of a moving car. Planes are built so that there is less drag.

All of these forces have to be just right to make a plane fly. Of course, airplanes need one other thing: You need a pilot to fly the plane to interesting places.

Answer 7

I would explain it to you ,the rest you can do.....
The principle of flight of an air-plane is "aerodynamics"
OR "AIR IN MOTION" .
Now what does that mean?
well, when a plane is flying ,it has a definite velocity, and the air continously thrushes past the wings.... but the wings of a plane are so made such that velocity of air passing on the upper side of wing and lower side are not equal...
Now coming to the action OF DIFFERENCE IN AIR PRESSURE:
Due to low velocity at the lower side of wing ,there develops a high pressure, and due to high velocity on the upper side , a low pressure region develops over the upper wing.

As we all know that any matter flows or is "pushed" from high pressure to low pressure,
similarly here also due pressure diff. between uppe and lower surface of the wings,the wings develop a thrust in the upper direction, i.e the high pressure from below supports the wings and hence the entire weight of the plane.


Thats why a plane needs TO"RUN AT HIGH SPEEDS" before take-off so that the incresing velocity of air along the wings,causes a "lifting force" (due tyo development of high pressure below) on the wings.......

Answer 8

The wings are tilted at a certain angle first off. Then the planes always go against the wind. The air is trying to get past the wings and the easiest way is to go under them, this flow of air under the wings creates lift, which gets the plane into the are. The air pressure is only relevant based on how large the plane is, less air pressure, no big plane is getting in the air.

Answer 9

Bernoulli's Principle

Answer 10

Try holding the backside of a spoon in the flow of water from your kitchen faucet.

This is a fluid flow, but it duplicates the action of a gas over a curved surface.

You understand that the air traveling across the upper (curved) surface of a wing must travel farther than the air flowing along the bottom, right? (because the distance is longer from the leading edge to the trailing edge, due to the curve) In traveling farther it can't help but spread itself out and create an area of low pressure which causes the wing to rise into the low-pressure area.

This is "lift".

Whether it is a rotary wing (helicopter) or fixed wing, the dynamic is the same.

Answer 11

Applying the principles of air pressure.