Anyone who knows a lot about planes can you answer these questions?

Question

How come when you look at an airplane in the sky it looks like it's going slow even though it's going really fast?

Is it really gravity that keeps planes from falling down in the sky?

That Wright Bros. were the first people to build an airplane, but who was the first person to build the NEW airplanes?

whats the difference between military airplanes and the ones people use to go places (besides size)????

Please answer!!

Answer 1

An aircraft in the sky looks like it is going slow because it is far away and there is nothing familiar to compare it to.  If you watch closely, however, you'll see that the airplane moves several times its own length every second, and since it might be 100 feet long or more, that works out to hundreds of miles per hour.

Gravity tries to pull airplanes down, just as it does with everything else.  The airplane stays in the sky because its wings generate lift whenever it is moving forward.  That is, the wings generate a force that pushes the plane upward, and this counteracts the force of gravity, so the airplane flies.

I'm not sure what you mean by new airplanes.  The Comet was the earliest commercial jet airliner, although it had problems and didn't fly for long; it was built in the UK by de Havilland.  Boeing built the 707 later on and it was much more successful.

Military airplanes are designed for military purposes: transporting people and equipment, transporting and dropping bombs, or firing weapons and patrolling airspace.  Civilian airliners are designed just to transport people and their luggage.

Answer 2

--Airplanes up high are covering a great distance, which is why it seems to take them longer to get anywhere.

--Gravity is the downward force that acts on airplanes.  Lift is the upward force that raises airplanes above the ground.

--There is no particular airplane in history that could be considered the "new" airplane.  Aircraft design has evolved slowly over the years, and many people have been involved in their development.

--Military aircraft are built to a different standard with no concern for economic justification.  They are much more powerful and burn much more fuel, because the taxpayers pay for it.  Military aircraft are designed to fulfill certain missions, and equipped with the necessary electronics and weapons for the mission at hand.  The interiors tend to be functional and not particularly decorative.

But they are rugged and durable.  B-52s are ugly from many angles, but they have been flying since 1955.

Answer 3

I'll give you this .... these are a strange set of questions .....

1).  Aircraft look like they are flying slow due to the distance between you and the subject, and that there is a large amount of space around the plane for which you are judging speed by.  Can you imagine an aircraft flying by 5 feet away from you at the same speed? It would pass you by in an instant due to the fact that there is a far less amount of distance from you .

2).  Gravity MAKES a plane fall from the sky.  Planes are able to fly by negative pres sue on the bottom of the wings, and the power-plant propelling it through the sky.

3). Like most other things, aircraft manufacturing is a combined effort, developing from others ideas and success.  Personally, I feel the 20's through the 40's were the period of time where advancements in engineering were the most spectacular.

4). You "go places" in passenger aircraft, where military aircraft a design specific for offensive and or defensive purposes, and are more involved with material and design.

Answer 4

That now is the biggest series of dumb questions I have ever seen on here. Congrats !!!   (-)10 points please

Answer 5

1) an aircraft looks like is is going slow simply because of the distance involved. It is much like watching anything else from a distance.

2) No. Gravity is the thing trying to get your plane back on the ground. Lift created by the wings keeps the plane in the sky.

3) This depends on your definition of new planes. The comet is recognized as the first new generation of jet passenger aircraft.

4) Military aircraft carry weapons. And are designed to take more G;'s and survive attacks.

Answer 6

Hi,

1-  It's all about perspective, and the fact that human vision is based on relative movement.  Just like when you're on the road and a car comes at you.  From a distance is seems to going slow, then it zooms by.  Same thing.  

2- Aircraft have four basic forces acting on them:  Thrust-provided by the engine(s), drag-resistance of air molecules, lift-the force(s) created by the airfoil, and gravity.  Lift keeps the aircraft flying, though as others have said, gravity prevents it from going into freefall and heading off...

3- If you mean jets, that came about in the later years of WW2.  All the major powers were working on jet propulsion, but only the Germans and British produced "operational" jet aircraft (operational means they actually flew in combat missions).  After the war, the advanced research of the Germans in such areas as aerodynamics, control surfaces and engines became widely available.  The British were the first to put a jet passenger aircraft into production.

4- If you mean military transport aircraft-not much.  In fact aircraft like C-123s, C130s are often used by commercial airfreight haulers.  "Fighters" are designed to be fast, maneuverable and carry ordnance to defeat other aircraft or attack ground targets.  "Bombers" do exactly that.  "Tankers" operate as airborne gas stations and perform air/air refueling.  "Reconnaissance/Surveillance" aircraft basically use different sensors to see what the bad guys are up to.

Hope that helps

Answer 7

1.  Because it's far away.  Ever notice when something is farther away it looks smaller?  It's really not smaller.  Airplanes are 30,000 feet (about 5 miles) high so they appear to be moving slowly when in fact they travel about 300 to 500 mph.

2.  No, that's what the jets are for.  Gravity pulls the plane down.  The jets use energy (jet fuel) to propel it forward and upward.

3.  New planes are jet propelled instead of propellars.  A Brittish guy named Sir Frank Whittle is credited with the first in around 1937.  Combine jets with aluminum (light) body and the rest is just physics.  Bigger jets need bigger engines.

4.  Military jets fly MUCH faster.  They are built for maneuvering and speed, not necessarily payload.  And they don't care about gas mileage.  Commercial aircraft try to pack as many people into as small a space as possible and fly at a speed that maximizes gas mileage.

Answer 8

#1. thats just how it is. if youre driving in the car and you look out far away like onto the horizon it looks the same way too.

#2. its not so much the gravity, but the air under the plane and air propeling it forward...on the air lol

#3. i'm not sure about them sory

#4. military airplanes are much more equipt with different gadgets and gizmos (of plenty) like it has the weapons so much more while the regular planes just the sonar and stuff used for navigating.

hope i helped

Answer 9

1.  Because the sky is so big, it takes it a long time to go from one side to the other.

2.  No, but gravity keeps it from flying off into space.

3.  Mr. Douglas

4.  Not as many seats, but way more guns, bullets, bombs and missles on the military airplanes.

Answer 10

For your first question, the answer is perception. Just as when you look at cars on a highway from a distance, they appear to be going much slower than they really are, because you are far away from them, however, if you were to stand right next to the highway, you would see they are going very fast. The same concept applies to airplanes in the sky.



It is not gravity that keeps planes in the air, but the force of lift created by the air traveling across and under the wings of the plane.

Yes the Wright brothers did get the first manned flight, but it's not like people stopped  making  aircraft between now and then. Aircraft today is a result of trial and error development over years. There is no one person responsible for today's aircraft, but thousands of people over a long period of time.

The difference between military aircraft and passenger planes is this: military aircraft are designed and built for specific purpose, such as fighters, bombers, troop/cargo transport, and some even designed for short take-off and easy storage on aircraft carriers. Passenger planes are designed just for that, passenger.

Answer 11

um... gravity forces you down, so... no.  

William boeing was the guy who really brought aviation into the commercial stage.