How do planes fly?

When analyzing aerodynamics of flight the first essential reason that flight is possible is because of fluid dynamics. This essentially means that our atmosphere is a massive fluid layer and with physics it is possible to traverse through this layer. There are four basic aerodynamic forces that make flight possible, lift, weight, thrust and drag. Thrust and drag work as opposing aerodynamic forces, and so do weight and lift. Thrust pushes and pulls the airplane forward through space, and drag is the friction of the object moving through the fluid layer. Weight is the force of the gravitational pull on the airplane according to its mass. Lift works using the wings of a plane; the wings split the airflow in two different directions. The faster-moving air flows over the wing and exerts less pressure on it than the slower air moving underneath the wing, and the result is an upward push which is known as Bernoulli’s principle. When airplanes are about to take off an important element that pilots must consider is the angle of attack. This is the angle that a wing hits the oncoming air. the greater the angle of attack, the greater the lift. It is easier for a plane to increase altitude than it is to travel at a fixed level, because at an angle it is better for oncoming air to hit the wing and cause a lift. Flight is also possible because of flaps and slats which are operated in takeoff and landing to change the pressure of the oncoming air. During takeoff and landing, the flaps are extended downward which diverts more air and thus creates more lift. Flight is only possible because of a variety of aerodynamic forces and manipulation of these forces controlled by the pilot.

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