Aviation Stack Exchange
Aviation Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [aerodynamics]

Aerodynamics is the study of how air moves and interacts with solid objects. It is an essential part of aircraft design.

Aerodynamics is the study of how air moves and interacts with solid objects. It is an essential part of aerospace study and engineering, including aircraft design and performance calculations. Pilots are usually taught at least some basic aerodynamic principles as part of their training, depending on their level of certification. Aerodynamics also has many applications outside the field of aviation, such as in automotive design.

This tag is appropriate for questions about lift, drag, airfoil efficiency. It is not appropriate for performance questions that are specifically about engines or other non-aerodynamic aircraft components.

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Why do airplanes lift up their nose to climb?

Is it right that basically an airplane just needs to accelerate to climb? Greater velocity of an airplane leads to greater lift - and since its weight remains constant (or even decreases) - a greater lift leads to a gain in altitude without the need…
Chris
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What does the behaviour of water on the skin of an aircraft in flight tell us?

Sometimes in damp conditions I notice some surprising (surprising to me, anyway) behaviour of water. I'll see moisture glistening in the heads of rivets or bolts on the top of the engine pylons - that stays there for a long time (many minutes) after…
Daniele Procida
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How do I explain what makes an airplane fly to a non-technical person?

As an engineer I can explain in very technical terms exactly what makes an airplane fly, however, it isn't easily understood by non-technical people. How can I explain it to a non-technical person, or a nine year old, in a way that isn't really…
Lnafziger
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What's P-Factor and why does it occur?

Whenever I hear anyone talking about P-Factor, (whether it be single-engine left turning tendencies or multi-engine loss of directional control scenarios), someone always brings up the fact that the descending blade of a propeller generates more…
Steve V.
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Why does a missile have small wings but better agility than a plane?

An anti air missile has often very small wings but out performs a fighter aircraft, e.g. much higher g-load, since g-load comes from lift which is the area of wing. Why not designing an aircraft like a missile? E.g. low drag, high agility.
user2174870
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Do aircraft at cruise bob and/or skip?

Recently I started flying a model aircraft, admittedly a kindness for a motor stuck onto a piece of foam, and have noticed that it either bobs, for lack of a better term, like something afloat on water might when depressed or that it skips, for lack…
Carel
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How does turning a small plane by opening the doors work?

I've just watched a video of a small Cessna turning not with ailerons or rudder but by opening its doors. They said that the door acts like a rudder, but in the video one of the guys opens the left door and the airplane rolls right. That doesn't …
J. Casas
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What is the reason of having an Angle of Incidence on an airplane?

I know that the angle of incidence is the angle between the chord line of the wing and the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. I know that it doesn't change in flight because it is fixed. And usually, there is a positive angle of incidence on…
Trekslofar
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Were there any successful flying machines that did not rely on Bernoulli's Principle?

One of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machines appears to be a giant auger. This design would not have exploited Bernoulli's Principle, but rather used the blade's rotation to push the air below it down to keep the craft airborne. Image credit:…
Erich
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How would you explain Bernoulli to a nine year old?

This is a aviation principles question coming from my nine year old daughter that I need help with. I was explaining to her the principle of flight and the fact that you need airflow under the wing in order to create lift and that this is why an…
yankeemike
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How much thrust was provided by a typical Meredith Effect radiator?

The Meredith Effect was used on some aircraft to provide more thrust by channeling air through the radiator such that the air is expanded, heated and then compressed through a constriction, generating thrust. How much thrust could such an…
Brinn Belyea
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What aircraft can make these sharp 90-degree turns?

I took this photo when I saw a plane make a crazy 90 degree turn. What kind of aircraft could do this? I have a plane finder app for commercial aircraft and this plane did not show, which is the first time that's happened.
user7351
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Why don't all aircraft use/need nacelle chines?

Most modern commercial aircraft (e.g. 737, 767, 777, 787, 747-8, A380, etc.) feature inboard nacelle chines to improve flow over the upper surface of the wing at high angles of attack. However, many other similarly purposed aircraft (e.g. DC-8,…
Bryson S.
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What is the difference between buffeting and fluttering?

As I understand, both are dynamic effects of aeroelasticity - however, what is the exact difference between buffeting and flutter?
Stefan
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How significant is antenna drag on light GA aircraft?

Antennas sticking out of an aircraft obviously increase profile drag, but the folks who design antennas have done a lot to improve aerodynamics: High performance aircraft can have antennas mounted inside of fiberglass components like wingtips, and…
voretaq7
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