Knowee
Questions
Features
Study Tools

What is the force that opposes gravity and allows an aircraft to rise and remain airborne

Question

What is the force that opposes gravity and allows an aircraft to rise and remain airborne

🧐 Not the exact question you are looking for?Go ask a question

Solution

The force that opposes gravity and allows an aircraft to rise and remain airborne is called lift. Here's how it works:

  1. An aircraft moves forward due to the thrust produced by its engines. This forward motion pushes air over the wings.

  2. The wings of an aircraft are designed in a special shape - flat at the bottom and curved at the top. This shape is known as an airfoil.

  3. When air flows over the wings, it moves faster over the curved top surface and slower beneath the flat bottom surface. This creates a pressure difference.

  4. The pressure is higher beneath the wing and lower on top of the wing. This difference in pressure creates an upward force known as lift.

  5. When the lift force is greater than the weight of the aircraft due to gravity, the aircraft rises. If the lift and weight are equal, the aircraft cruises at a constant altitude.

  6. By adjusting the thrust (speed) and the angle of the wings (angle of attack), pilots can control the amount of lift and thus the altitude of the aircraft.

This problem has been solved

Similar Questions

A friction-like force that opposes the motion of objects that move through the air is called .

Identify the type of force that causes the arrow to fly when fired.Air resistanceElastic forceTensionGravity

Aircraft are typically designed such that when its center of gravity is slightly forward of its center of pressure, the aircraft is longitudinally stable.Group of answer choicesTrueFalse

What is another way to say 'the force due to gravity'?Normal forceWeightFriction Applied forceAir resistance

The vertical component of the acceleration of a sailplane is zero when the air pushes up against its wings with a force of 3.16 kN. Assuming that the only forces on the sailplane are that due to gravity and that due to the air pushing against its wings, what is the gravitational force on the Earth due to the sailplane (enter first)? Is that force upward or downward?

1/1

Upgrade your grade with Knowee

Get personalized homework help. Review tough concepts in more detail, or go deeper into your topic by exploring other relevant questions.