Primary knowledge about aerodynamics.

1. HOW DO AEROPLANES FLY
At a glance
Planes must overcome 2 forces when they fly.
*Drag is the force which resists the horizontal motion of the plane.
The plane produces thrust using its engines which is larger than the drag on the .
*The second is the weight of the plane.
This is overcome by the lift generated by the wings.
The wings are designed so that air moves faster over the top of the wing than the bot-
tom .
This causes an area of lower pressure above the wing than below producing an upwards
force, lifting the plane.
IN DETAILS
Thrust is the force that moves the plane forward. It is produced by the engines
of the plane. This is the force which gives the plane horizontal movement. As the plane
moves forwards , air particles collide with the plane exerting a force which is in the op-
posite direction to the motion. The faster the plane travels, the more particles it hits
per second and so the larger the drag on the plane is. If you want your plane to move,
its thrust must be greater than the drag which is being produced. We know from expe-
rience that we need more than just speed to fly. Other than in unfortunate and spec-
tacular circumstances Formula One cars seldom fly around the track. The other force
needed by the plane is lift. The plane gets its lift from its wings, which are specially
designed to cause the plane to feel an upwards force. Plane wings are designed so that
air moving over the top of them moves much faster than air moving along the underside.
This has the effect of making the pressure of the air below the wing higher than the
pressure above the wing. This means that the force from the air below the wing is more
than the force from the air above the wing and so the plane feels an upwards force. If
the air is moving over the wing fast enough this upwards force is larger than the weight
of the plane causing the plane to take off. When the pilot wants to land the wings are
tilted slightly so that air is now traveling more slowly over the wing reducing the lift of
the plane.
Created by
TANVIR KHAN ANIK