Shown is a line drawing with labels indicating the parts of an airfoil.īelow the airfoil is a blue arrow that points to the left to indicate the direction of motion. Here, the ACTION is air pushing downward under the wing, and the REACTION is the wing moving upwards. Once again Newton’s Third Law is in action. This is the reaction.Īs air passes along a wing, some of the air is directed downward. Beside this is text that indicates when the wing is pushed upwards there is lift. This is the action.Ībove the middle of the airfoil is a green arrow that is the same size and shape as the red arrow pointing upwards. Beside this is text indicates that air is pushed downward by the underside of the wing. The lines get closer to each other above the thickest part of the airfoil and then return to their normal spacing once they are past the airfoil shape.īelow the middle of the airfoil is a red arrow that is pointed downwards. The other two blue lines follow shape of the top of the airfoil. One blue line connects to the middle of each side of the airfoil. Two blue lines go below the airfoil shape, rising up slightly towards the left and then sloping down, following the shape of the bottom of the airfoil. There are five thin parallel blue lines, representing the airflow, that go across the image horizontally. The airfoil is horizontal in the middle of the picture, with the rounded edge pointing slightly upwards towards the left and the pointed edge pointing slightly downwards towards the right.Ībove the airfoil is a blue arrow that points to the left to indicate the direction of motion. It is slightly bulged on the top compared to the bottom. The airfoil is a long teardrop shape with a thicker, rounded end to the left and a longer, thinner end to the right. ![]() Shown is a line drawing of how an airfoil redirects air as it moves. Lift refers to the force that an object needs to overcome its weight. If an aircraft is being pulled down toward the Earth by gravity and its own mass, how does it stay in the air? The answer is the second force, lift. Below the rear part of the aircraft is once again a red arrow pointing downward with the word "weight" beside it. The fighter jet appears to be flying almost straight up into the sky. Below the centre of the aircraft is a red arrow pointing downward beside the word "weight". The large twin-engined airliner, appears to be flying in a level position and travelling from left to right. Below the balloon is a red arrow pointing downward beside the word "weight", indicating that weight is a downward force, and the direction of the force is perpendicular to the ground. The green hot air balloon appears to be floating in a clear blue sky. Directional arrows and text are overlaid on the photo. Shown, from left to right, are photographs of a hot air balloon, a large commercial airliner and a fighter jet. ![]() This force, as mentioned above, also has a direction. Substituting W for F above we get: W = mgįrom this equation, we can see that when we talk about ‘weight’ we are actually talking about how much force is acting on a mass due to gravity. However, we usually use the symbol W when specifically talking about weight. In terms of the four forces acting upon an aircraft, weight is measured as the F in the above equation. When doing this calculation, it is best to use the unit for gravity in N/kg: g = 9.81 N/kg Where F is the force in newtons newtons ( N), m is the mass of the object in kg and g is the acceleration due to gravity. In the case of the Earth, “toward itself” means “down toward the ground.” The force exerted on a body due to gravity can be expressed using the equation: F = mg Certain objects in space, including planets like the Earth, exert a force that attracts objects toward itself. The weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity. The first of the four forces exerted on aircraft is weight. ![]() Each of these plays a key role in keeping an aircraft in the air and moving forward. These are weight, lift, thrust, and drag. There are four forces that act on things that fly. But have you ever wondered how an aircraft flies? The answer is easy - with a little physics! Flight is all about forces and movement, which can be explained using physics. You’ve probably seen an airplane flying at some point. Open Professional Learning × Close Professional Learning Open Educational Resources × Close Educational Resources
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