How do airplanes work?

Answer 1

Aeroplanes work by the flow of air over their wings and control surfaces. The wings work because of a feature of air flow discovered by a fellow named Bernoulli. It's called Bernoulli's Principle. Once the aeroplane has achieved adequate speed, it pretty much takes off by itself. Gliders borrow their airspeed and altitude from a powered aircraft or some other launching device. But once aloft, they rely on the same lifting principle that powered planes do (and the occasional thermal for a free ride back up to altitude.) . The power (in the form of a propeller or jet) is used to maintain the aeroplane's forward speed (which produces lift in the wing) and to overcome the aeroplane's inherent drag. But just because the engine stops in mid air doesn't mean the aeorplane drops straight out of the sky. It can continue to fly, descending, with reduced control effectiveness. Eventually, it will contact the earth; it has to. But the higher up the aeroplane is, the kinder the terrain is below, the greater the chances are of a positive outcome: e.g. the "Miracle on the Hudson." The aerodynamically cleaner the aeorplane is, the less drag it has, the more the power can go into the speed sector, and the faster/farther the plane can go on a tank of gas. The control surfaces on the wings and in the tail section (or canard) deflect the moving air, causing changes in the various moments (forces) operating on the airframe. This allows the pilot to maneuver the aeroplane in any direction his heart and the engine will take him. In small aeroplanes, the control surfaces are deflected through a system of cables and pulleys, pushrods, levers, and cranks, all controlled from the cockpit, usually, the left or front seat in the aeroplane. In larger aeroplanes, the surfaces may be deflected using hydraulics and motors to accomplish the same purpose. By pushing the stick side to side or rotating the yoke clockwise and counterclockwise the pilot can deflect the ailerons, the control surfaces on the main wing. This action causes the aeorplane to roll left or right. Pulling back on the stick or yoke makes the elevator (adjoing the horizontal stabilizer) deflect up which makes the nose pitch up. Pushing it down makes the elevator deflect down which makes the nose pitch down. There are pedals on the floor. Pushing in the right one makes the rudder deflect to the right and makes the aeroplane yaw to the right. The opposite rudder makes it yaw to the left. There are basic instruments on the control panel that give you graphic feed back about the inputs you're making to the control surfaces and how the plane is responding. When you take flying lessons, you learn to read those instruments and to operate the controls in concert with one another, making the aeroplane do and go where you want it to, in the way you want it to. Happy landings!

Answer 2

Due to the movement of the airplane, and the special shape of the wing, there is more pressure on the underside, and less pressure of the upper side of the wings. Bernoulli's principle plays an important role here.

Answer 3

This is a pretty complex question, and I'm not an expert, but here is a simple answer:

Why does it fly: the airplane flies because the shape of the wing creates a short stream of air underneath and a long stream above. Since the distribution of any gaseous mixture's molecules is even, high pressure is created underneath the wing, and low pressure is created above the wing. The faster the plane moves, the greater this difference in pressure becomes. (And the lower the friction between the wheels and the runway becomes.) This high pressure underneath each wing lifts the plane up.

Why does it move: the airplane moves because its engines take in air, compress it several times, add fuel, and push it out the back.

I hope that helped.