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Physics of Flight

Physics of Flight. Four Forces. There are four forces that act on the plane while in flight Lift Gravity Thrust Drag. Lift. Lift lifts or pushes the plane upwards Lift is generated by uneven flow of air over the wings Air must move faster over the top of the wings to generate lift.

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Physics of Flight

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  1. Physics of Flight

  2. Four Forces • There are four forces that act on the plane while in flight • Lift • Gravity • Thrust • Drag

  3. Lift • Lift lifts or pushes the plane upwards • Lift is generated by uneven flow of air over the wings • Air must move faster over the top of the wings to generate lift. • Curved wings can cause the unevenness • Angle of attack can cause the unevenness

  4. Creating lift • Lift is created by moving air, specifically air moving faster over the top of the wing than over the bottom • An airplane must gain enough speed traveling down the runway before it can take off • This is generating enough difference in air speed to create the lift needed to fly

  5. Center of Lift • If the wing were a square, the balancing point of the lift would be in the center of the square • Since wings are not square, the center of the lift is not in the middle • The center of lift is where lift in the front and back of the plane is balanced.

  6. Gravity • Gravity is the force pulling everything towards the center of the earth • To stay in flight, a plane must have the same or more lift than pull of gravity

  7. Center of Gravity • Gravity is a force that pulls down on a plane. • Some planes have more mass at one end than the other, so there is more pull at this end of the plane • Center of gravity is where the pull of gravity is balanced equally.

  8. Finding the Center of Gravity • Hanging the plane from a string will help you find the center of gravity • The center of gravity is not found yet, because the plane is not balanced

  9. Finding the Center of Gravity • When the string is attached to the center of gravity, the plane will be balanced • Balancing Act

  10. Balancing Act • A plane will fly best when the center of gravity and the center of lift are in the same location • If the center of lift is further aft (back) the nose will go down • If the center of lift is further fore (forward) the nose will go up

  11. Helping the Balance • Adding a turn up or down to the trailing edge will tilt the plane up or down (same direction as the bend)

  12. Thrust • Thrust is the force that pushes forward on a plane. • A real plane generates continuous thrust from its engines • The paper airplane gets its thrust from the throw in flight or the launcher

  13. Drag • Drag is the force the pushes on a plane • Drag is caused by wind resistance and “pushes” the airplane backwards. It increases/decreases with an increase in speed. • The faster something moves, the more drag is generated

  14. Four Forces • There are four forces that act on the plane while in flight Lift Thrust Drag Gravity

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