Linked Questions
31 questions linked to/from Why do airplanes lift up their nose to climb?
32
votes
9
answers
8k
views
Is excess lift or excess power needed for a climb?
As answered in this question, aircraft need excess power - not excess lift - to climb. This is plausible when the aircraft's thrust vector has a vertical component (its nose and engine points upwards),...
- 993
24
votes
8
answers
26k
views
Does lift equal weight in a climb?
This subject keeps coming up in the discussions and questions such as this one, which asks if lift equals weight in level flight. Good answers there, pointing out that upwards force has many sources. ...
- 61.2k
18
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How frequent is the use of spoilers during descent?
Having flown a number of flights as a passenger recently, I observed that:
Roughly 50% of pilots used spoilers above FL180
Almost everybody used spoilers to pass the 10,000 feet / 250 knots mark
...
- 39.6k
17
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Do any airplane designs exist that don't involve a flight surface that provides downforce?
Most aircraft maintain longitudinal stability by balancing three forces:
The down force acting through the center of gravity (CG)
The lifting force acting through the center of lift
The down force ...
- 14.8k
17
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Why do planes not fly "backwards" (up from the planes POV) when in a vertical climb?
As suggested by a user in this question, I'd like to ask this question:
One of the most basic aerobatic maneuvers is a vertical climb. This can be achieved by just pitching up to what appears to be ...
- 3,932
15
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is trimming for constant speed equal to trimming for constant angle of attack?
My understanding of trim:
When you say you have trimmed an aircraft for a constant speed, say 100 mph, you are actually trimming the horizontal stabilizer so that there are no forces on stick (or tail ...
- 2,349
14
votes
4
answers
27k
views
How do planes descend for landing?
I fly occasionally on a pretty short route on a turboprop (DHC-8). When the airplane descends for landing, I can look through the window and see the ground below getting closer over time. However I ...
- 243
8
votes
6
answers
9k
views
Does lift equal weight in level flight?
Does lift equal weight in level flight? Or does it equal weight + down pressure on the tail?
Added) Let's say the total weight of the aircraft on the ground was 100,000 lbs, and when it took off and ...
- 7,535
8
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Does an accelerating airplane also start climbing?
Assume that an airplane is flying level. If I understood correctly in this situations there are four forces acting on it: weight, thrust, drag and lift.
Lift depends on air density, airspeed, wing ...
- 81
7
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What is the relationship between power and fuel efficiency?
We were having a discussion in our ground school that power will make the plane ascend or descend and that you use the stick for speed, forward for higher speed and back for slower speed. So does that ...
- 737
7
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Under what conditions do airplanes stall? [duplicate]
I've seen somewhat conflicting information on when planes stall. I've seen references to "stall speed," apparently a speed below which the airplane will stall, but stalling also seems to be ...
- 6,472
7
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Is there always a stall if you exceed a specific angle of attack?
So lets consider that the stall angle (=Cl max) of a B747 is at 16° (in clean configuration). Does this mean, that, at whatever speed you are flying (i.e. 500 knots), you would stall if you go on a ...
- 71
6
votes
4
answers
4k
views
How can lift be less than thrust that is less than weight? [duplicate]
Physics in schools teaches two contradictory and mutually exclusive things:
That the upward lift force on an airplane in flight equal its weight (Lift = Weight = Mass x Gravity). This is based on ...
- 77
6
votes
1
answer
421
views
Can this vane prevent/delay wing stall?
Given that a stall results from the airflow over the top of the wing separating from the wing at high angles of attack, would it be possible to prevent, or at least ameliorate, a stall by deflecting ...
- 28k
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What does the pressure distribution over a glider's wing look like?
Can someone explain the design of glider wing airfoils and the subsequent pressure distribution over them?
I hypothesize that:
The pressure distribution should form a resultant force in the forward, ...
- 717