Essay about The Physics of Airplane Flight

Airplanes are massive and very complex pieces of machinery, and they help us get to places more efficiently and cheaper than traditional ways. Although we have seen that if

is the air resistance on any given object that is moving in the presence of air. In the

A simple arch bridge reaches across the river in an arching shape rather than straight across the river. Gravity, the weight of the bridge and all the weight creates a downwards force. But since the bridge is curved the force becomes a downwards outward force. Rather than

Since the beginning of aviation, aircraft have been used for other intentions besides carrying passengers and cargo. They have been used as weapons of war dating all the way back to the first world war, and the use of aircraft has enlightened the advancement of the aviation. “Throughout the history of aviation, the greatest progress in flight has been made during time when either war or the threat of war was present” (Millspaugh, et al., 2008, p. 33). However, the war we face today has been triggered by the deliberate use of aircraft to cause death, destruction, and mayhem.

Since the beginning of time all human beings have had a fascination with human flight. Watching a bird soar through the air, one cannot help but desire the same capabilities. Imagine the point of view of the bird that flies high above the trees, among the mountains, over the ocean, and high in the air, far away from the clamor of everyday life on the ground. To have the freedom and power to release ones self from the tribulations experienced with two feet on the ground, and spring up and away into the peaceful, blue sky is a common human desire. Since ancient times, flight has represented the

The objective of this exercise is to measure the pressure distribution across the surface on an aerofoil in a wind tunnel. The aerofoil is tested under several different Mach numbers from subsonic to supercritical. The purpose of measuring the pressure distributions is to assess the validity of the Prandtl-Glauert law and to discuss the changing chracteristics of the flow as the Mach number increases from subsonic to transonic.

The first flight occurred in 1903 when the Wright brothers famously took their airplane for a final test flight in December. In the years after this historic flight many people start to see the potential for airplanes in war, transportation, and shipping. Other builders disregarded previous doubt about flying and began to replicate the ideas of the Wright brothers in creating planes with three axes. In addition, the approach of WWI prompted military personnel to pursue uses of airplanes as a war machine. The airplane influenced many aspects of American culture after it’s invention including civilian life, war technology, and individual possibility.

The brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, possibly the two most renowned representatives of American aeronautics, were the first to experience controlled, continuous flight of a powered airplane in history. Despite being autodidactic in the area of engineering, the duo proved to be extraordinarily successful, testing and refining their strategies to overcome successive challenges that arose with the building of a plane (Crouch 226). The two were so far ahead in the race for flight that they even anticipated and found solutions to problems that more learned scientists could not have even begun to predict. Successful, man-controlled, powered flight was a fundamental turning point in history; it transformed the methods of how the United States

[2] Queen Mary University of London, DEN233, Low Speed Aerodynamics, Lecture Notes, 2013, (Accessed on 13th November 2013)

First the author uses symbols to help describe the Angel and portray how weak the angel actually is. The Angel’s wings symbolize strength and power. While the Angel is in the cage his wings are beat up and he is weak, but over time his wings begin to heal and he becomes more powerful. It says, “... and at the beginning of December some large, stiff feathers began to grow on his wings,” (367). This line demonstrates the power the Angel is obtaining and soon after he

Ever since I was little I was amazed at the ability for a machine to fly. I have always wanted to explore ideas of flight and be able to actually fly. I think I may have found my childhood fantasy in the world of aeronautical engineering. The object of my paper is to give me more insight on my future career as an aeronautical engineer. This paper was also to give me ideas of the physics of flight and be to apply those physics of flight to compete in a high school competition.

Lift is one of the most contested components of airplane flight. There are different theories in how an airplane reacts to air being rushed over its wings. In all actuality the entire airplane promotes lift. Often it is forgotten how the top portion of the airplane and wing plays just as an important role in creating lift as the bottom of the airplane and wing. As stated in How Airplanes Fly “Lift is the force that directly opposes the weight of an airplane and holds the airplane in the air” (Eberhardt). Lift must overcome or be equal to the weight of the airplane (Eichenberger). Lift is produced as the air flows over the body and wings of the airplane as it is moving forward. The wings help to develop most of the lift due to their design. They come in different shapes and sizes, from short wings to very long wings, even a propeller of a helicopter is considered a wing. No matter what size or shape, wings are designed to create lift. According to Newton’s third law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means the lift of a wing is equal to the change in momentum of the air it is diverting downward (Eberhardt). Pilots have controls to increase the size of the wing while the airplane is flying, thus increasing lift and helping to keep the airplane flying at slower speeds.

This report aims to investigate the effect the angle of attack of an aerofoil has on the air flow around it. This was done by recording the lift and drag forces the aerofoil experienced when positioned at different angles of attack. The experimental lift force the aerofoil experienced when positioned at different angles of attack was then compared with theoretical values. An attempt was made to explain any discrepancies between experimental and theoretical values.

Since the beginning of recorded history, humans have always had a fascination with flight. Now that we live in a world where boarding an airplane and flying across the country – or even the world - is simply a part of everyday life, the wonder of flight has diminished for many. Despite this, physics students from all around continue to delight in the many physical forces that play a part in keeping these huge objects (like jumbo jets) from falling out of the sky!

Birds have beautiful feathers and lovely songs that bring joy and wonder to us humans. And flight is the feature that probably captures the human imagination more than anything else. For millennia, people have watched birds in the sky and wished we could fly, too.