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The Effect of Aerodynamic Forces on Aircraft Flying

November 12, 2019 • ☕️ 4 min read • 🏷 aviation, aircraft

Translated by author into: English


I’m interested in aviation as an amateur. I admire the technologies used in airplanes, the operation in the process of preparing the aircraft for flying, the transportation of people and cargo to and from the aircraft. “Is flying the most important achievement for humanity?” it is an issue that can be discussed, but as beings that do not have wings to fly, we are certainly challenging the rules of nature.

This article is about aerodynamic forces and how airplanes fly. Although we have no interest in aviation, it is not difficult to read the aerodynamic forces and understand how the aircraft move.

When we think about planes, many people think that engines are the most important element, but this is not true. The main element that holds an airplane in the air and balances its weight is the wings. When we think of gliders, paper planes and birds, we can see that the action of flying without motor is possible. Of course, these engines do not mean unnecessary. :)

By understanding their aerodynamic forces, we can easily understand how an airplane flies. Aerodinamik; examines the interaction of moving solid masses with air. Simply; aerodynamics is the way objects move in the air, and aerodynamic rules explain how an airplane flies. There are 4 forces acting on airplanes moving in the air. These: 

Lift
Thrust
Drag
Weight

Weight affects aircraft but is not an aerodynamic force.

Aerodynamic Forces

Lift Force

As can be seen from the figure below, the lift is an upward acting aerodynamic force. The lift keeps the aircraft in the air. This upward force balances the weight of the aircraft and the lift rises when the lift is greater than the weight. So how to create the lift. Of course, with the help of the plane’s wings.

Lift Force

The photo above shows the shape of an airplane wing. The top of the aircraft wings are curved and the bottom is flat. This shape allows air to flow faster from top to bottom. As a result, high pressure occurs at the bottom and low pressure at the top. This pressure difference moves the wing and the attached aircraft upwards.

Thrust Force

Propulsion is the force produced by jet engines - propellers - rockets that push the aircraft forward. When the thrust is higher than the drag, the plane moves forward.

Thrust Force

The thrust force is reserved for the function of the motors. All engines take inlet air and compress it with compressor. It then burns and uses energy in the combustion chamber inside the turbine. The high-pressure air is then ejected from the rear of the engine at high speed. Newton’s III. Act says that there is a reaction of the same magnitude and opposite direction for each effect. This rule applies when the air leaves the engine. When high-speed air exits the engine, it pushes the plane forward.

Drag Force

In each movement, there is definitely some resistance. The force that opposes the movement of the plane is the Drag force. The shape of an object affects the amount of drag. Narrow surfaces generally have less friction than larger ones. Likewise, the round surfaces generally have less friction than the flat ones. When the amount of air striking a surface increases, the force of the drag will increase.

For these reasons, planes are designed to produce maximum lift and minimum drag.

Weight Force

Weight is the simplest but most important of all forces. So the main rule of aircraft structural engineering is: “Design as light as possible”.

Snowball Effect can be mentioned here.

Snowball Effect If you reduce the weight of an airplane, less lifting force will be required to fly. A lower lift requirement also means that you can reduce the blade size. Again, smaller motors cause less friction, so less thrust to be produced with smaller motors is sufficient. Eventually, smaller engines and wing size will lead to further reduction in aircraft weight.

References