Airplane why fly

Wings are designed and constructed with meticulous attention to shape, contour, length, width and depth, and they are fitted with many different kinds of control surfaces, which are described below. The empennage is the tail assembly of an aircraft, consisting of large fins that extend both vertically and horizontally from the rear of the fuselage. Their primary purpose is to help stabilize the aircraft, much like the keel of a boat.

In addition, they also have control surfaces built into them that help the pilots steer the aircraft. The control surfaces attached to an aircraft's wings and tail alter the equilibrium of straight and level flight when moved up and down or left and right.

They are manipulated from controls in the cockpit. In some planes, hydraulic lines connect the cockpit controls with these various exterior panels. In others, the connection is electronic. The rudder is a large panel attached to the trailing edge of a plane's vertical stabilizer in the rear of the plane.

It is used to control yaw, which is the movement of the nose left or right. The rudder is used mostly during takeoffs and landings to keep the nose of an aircraft on the centerline of the runway. It is manipulated via foot pedals in the cockpit. Jet aircraft also have automatic yaw dampers that function at all times, to ensure a comfortable ride.

The elevators are panels attached to the trailing edge of an aircraft's two horizontal stabilizers, also part of the tail assembly, or empennage. The elevators control the pitch of an aircraft, which is the movement of the nose up or down. They are used during flight and are manipulated by pulling or pushing on the control wheel or side-stick controller in the cockpit.

The ailerons are panels built into the trailing edge of the wings. Like the elevators, they are used during flight to steer an aircraft and are manipulated by turning the control wheel or side-stick controller in the cockpit to the left or right. These steering motions deflect the ailerons up or down, which in turn affect the relative lift of the wings. An aileron deflected down increases the lift of the wing to which it is attached, while an aileron deflected up decreases the lift of its wing.

Thus, if a pilot deflects downward the aileron on the left wing of the aircraft, and defects upward the aileron on the right wing, the aircraft will roll, or bank, to the right. Spoilers are panels built into the top surfaces of the wings and mostly are used during landings to spoil the lift of the wings and thus keep the aircraft firmly planted on the ground once it touches down.

They also can be used during flight to expedite a descent. The other major control surfaces are the flaps and slats, both designed primarily to increase the lift of the wings at the slow speeds used during takeoffs and landings. Flaps are mounted on the trailing edge of the wings, slats on the leading edge.

When extended, they increase lift because they make the surface area of the wings larger and accentuate the curve of the wings. Flaps also are commonly deployed during final approach to increase lift, which provides control and stability at slower speeds. The landing gear is the undercarriage assembly that supports an aircraft when it is on the ground and consists of wheels, tires, brakes, shocks, axles and other support structures.

Virtually all jet aircraft have a nose wheel with two tires, plus two or more main gear assemblies with as many as 16 tires. The landing gear is usually raised and lowered hydraulically and fits completely within the lower fuselage when retracted.

Aircraft tires are filled with nitrogen rather than air because nitrogen does not expand or contract as much as air during extreme temperature changes, thus reducing the chances of a tire blowout.

The exact number of engines on an airplane is determined by the power and performance requirements of the aircraft. Most jet airplanes have two, three or four engines, depending on aircraft size. Some have the engines attached to the rear of the fuselage. Many have them mounted on pylons, hanging below the wings. Some have a combination of both, with an engine under each wing and one on top of the fuselage at the rear of the plane. The power produced by the engines is controlled by the pilots, either directly or indirectly, through computerized controls.

All large airliners are designed to fly safely on fewer than all engines. In other words, the remaining engine or engines have enough power to keep the aircraft airborne. As mentioned above, some form of propulsion is required to move an aircraft through the air and generate sufficient lift for it to fly. The earliest forms of propulsion were simple gasoline engines that turned propellers. What is Aeronautics? Air is a physical substance which has weight.

It has molecules which are constantly moving. Air pressure is created by the molecules moving around. Moving air has a force that will lift kites and balloons up and down. Air is a mixture of different gases; oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

All things that fly need air. Air has power to push and pull on the birds, balloons, kites and planes. In , Evagelista Torricelli discovered that air has weight. When experimenting with measuring mercury, he discovered that air put pressure on the mercury.

Francesco Lana used this discovery to begin to plan for an airship in the late s. He drew an airship on paper that used the idea that air has weight. The ship was a hollow sphere which would have the air taken out of it.

Once the air was removed, the sphere would have less weight and would be able to float up into the air. Each of four spheres would be attached to a boat-like structure and then the whole machine would float. The actual design was never tried. Hot air expands and spreads out and it becomes lighter than cool air. When a balloon is full of hot air it rises up because the hot air expands inside the balloon.

When the hot air cools and is let out of the balloon the balloon comes back down. Airplane wings are shaped to make air move faster over the top of the wing.

When air moves faster, the pressure of the air decreases. So the pressure on the top of the wing is less than the pressure on the bottom of the wing. The difference in pressure creates a force on the wing that lifts the wing up into the air. Here is a simple computer simulation that you can use to explore how wings make lift. Laws of Motion Sir Isaac Newton proposed three laws of motion in Governor Ned Lamont.

Home About Us Contact Us. State Symbols. While any part of the airplane can produce Lift , the most Lift comes from the wings. Fixed and Rotary Wing Aircraft.

Now you are probably thinking that helicopters do not need to move forward in order to fly, and you are right. This is because helicopters are "rotary wing aircraft," meaning that the rotor which is turned around rapidly by the engine s is shaped like a narrow wing and provides the Lift necessary to overcome the Weight of the aircraft. This is different than a "fixed wing" aircraft where the wings are attached to the fuselage fixed and the Thrust of the engine s moves the plane forward to generate Lift.

Tilting the rotor allows the helicopter to move forward and backward or side-to-side. Propeller Driven Planes - Propeller driven airplanes use a propeller that is turned by some type of engine. This may seem confusing, but that's okay. The important thing to remember is that the interaction of forces whatever they're called is responsible for everything that speeds up, slows down, stays still or moves at a constant speed.

Watch this activity on YouTube. Draw a diagram of an airplane on the board. Have the students identify where the four forces are located that make it possible for the airplane to fly. What force must be larger for the airplane to speed up? Answer: Thrust What force must be larger as the airplane takes off? Answer: Lift What force must be larger for the airplane to slow down?

Answer: Drag What force must be larger for the airplane to begin descending? Answer: Weight Ask the students why it is important for engineers to understand these forces.

How might engineers make airplanes better? Example answer: Decrease drag by improving the shape of the plane. Acceleration: A change in direction, or speeding up or slowing down. When you push the gas pedal on a car to start after a stop sign, the car accelerates. Aeronautical engineer: A person who studies the forces involved in flight.

An aeronautical engineer might be responsible for designing new airplanes, spaceships or parachutes. An aeronautical engineer might also work with a biologist to learn about how birds or insects fly. Drag: The force that slows an airplane or parachute down. Drag is caused by air particles hitting against a moving object. Force: Something that acts from the outside to push or pull an object. For example, an adult pulling a child in a wagon exerts a force upon the wagon. Lift: The force that pushes an airplane up into the air.

Lift is caused by the shape of an airplane's wings. Thrust: The force that pushes an airplane forward. Thrust can be produced on airplanes by propellers or jet engines. Weight: The force of a mass being attracted to another mass. For example, the Earth's mass pulls you down a certain amount sometimes called "the force of gravity".

When you stand on a scale, this force is measured as your weight. Count the votes and write the totals on the board. Give the right answer. Drawing: Have the students draw a picture of a scene, maybe the classroom, the playground or their house. Then, ask them to draw arrows for all the forces at work in their picture and try to name as many of those forces as they can. Bingo: Provide each student with a sheet of paper containing a list of the lesson vocabulary terms.

Have each student walk around the room and find a student who can define one vocabulary term. Students must find a different student for each term. When a student has all terms completed they shout "Bingo! Ask the students who shouted "Bingo! Ask the students to write a short story describing a situation that involves "balanced" forces constant motion versus "unbalanced" forces when things accelerate.

How are the forces acting on an airplane flying similar to the forces acting on a boat moving through water? How are they different? Answer: Caused by different things: sails instead of propellers for thrust, water instead of air for drag, etc.

Have the students investigate the history of flight.