How DOES an Airplane Fly?
Physical Science Explained
Vocabulary required to understand
Drag (Force Backward) v Thrust (Force forward)
Drag = Thrust = Constant speed maintained by the the airplane
Drag < Thrust = Speeding up which allows the plane to get off the ground
Drag > Thrust = Slowing down which allows the plane to landNewton's 3 Law's (inertia, motion, rest, action, reaction)
Lift, Drag, Weight, Thrust, Speed
Wright Brothers Plane
Modern Airplane
Demonstration - How have planes evolved? How do planes fly differently?
Planes have evolved in their design.
The shape of the wing is what causes planes to be able to fly. The type of wing affects how high it can go. The improvements we have made since the Wright Brothers plane have dramatically improved our air travel capacity as a society."A little more than 10 years after the first powered flight by the Wright brothers in 1903, there was dogfighting over Europe; 20 years later, commercial aviation began; 30 years later, there were routine passenger flights; 40 years later, jet aircraft; 44 years later, level, supersonic flight; 50 years later, the possibility of atomic powered aircraft; 60 years later, Mach 3 planes; and 70 years later, the Concorde." (Clarke, 2008)
Planes are more efficient.
We use planes to travel large amounts of people and freight across oceans. Planes have also become smaller and more efficient when used in the military. Different planes have been designed for different reasons and the energy used to fly has decreased.
"According to a study by Michael Sivak at the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute. The numbers are based on how many BTUs (British thermal unit, equal to 1,055 joules) are needed to move one person one mile. In 1970, flying was twice as energy intensive as driving, but that has reversed. In 2012, the most recent year counted, driving one person one mile took 4,211 BTUs, while flying required just 2,033." (Davies, 2015)
Experiment
Citations
Clarke, Alex. The Evolution of Military Aviation. National Academy of Engineering. 12.3.08
https://www.nae.edu/TheEvolutionofMilitaryAviation.aspx