How can airplanes hover with no forward speed?
An aircraft has what is called a stall speed. this speed is the point at witch the wings stop creating the necessary lift needed to keep it aloft. depending on many factors different aircrafts have different stall speeds. some as slow as 38 knots. so essentially this small aircraft will need to be pointed in the direction of the wind witch must be a sustained wind of at least 38 knots. In theory it is possible but highly unlikely. There are dubious claims that this type of aircraft can actually fly backwards. Its all a factor of the relative wind velocity across the wing.Improved AnswerAircrafts are able to hover with no forward speed. The Harrier and the F-35Bs can both do it.Basically, how they work is similar to helicoptersInstead of forward thrust for lift (like other aircrafts),The thrust points downward to push the body up.Both aircrafts' body and flaps are designed to either cruise or takeoff/land verticallyThese two are the only two on top of my head, not sure if there are others like themOh, and one more thing: these aircrafts are called VSTOL aircrafts (stands for Vertical Short Take Off and Landing)Hope that helps!