Can an aeroplane stay in the air without moving backward or forward like a helicopter?

Question

Can an aeroplane stay in the air without moving backward or forward like a helicopter?

Answer 1

Absolutely.  It's called slow flight.   I have even flown my airPLANE backwards.

Its all about wind speed at altitude.    

If you fly your plane at an airspeed equal to the oncoming windflow, you can be stationary over the ground.

I flew my Cessna 150 backwards at 3000' MSL.  I was doing slow flight, and the windspeed at altitude was faster than my airspeed, causing my aircraft to actually move backwards over the ground.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Yes. It can stay stationary in the air so long as the wind matches the aircraft's airspeed.

Some old planes have a cruise speed of around 50 mph or less, and with a strong headwind and if flaps are used to slow the airplane, they can actually go backwards or 'hover' relative to the ground.

Answer 3

The have been several aircraft developed with the capability of taking off and landing vertically, and some of these can indeed hover in the air like a helicopter. This capability is known as VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing). The best-known of these aircraft is probably the Harrier Jump Jet.

Other VTOL aircraft include the YAK-36, as well as the V-22 Osprey. The upcoming F-35C cannot take off vertically, but it can land vertically.

Conventional, non-VTOL aircraft, however, must maintain forward motion to remain airborne.

Answer 4

the definition of aircraft does not allow for this. The guy about explains the verticle take off vehicles but they are not considered airplanes

Answer 5

Harrier not an aircraft?so its a submarine then?

anyway an aircraft flies because air flows over the wings, she will do this stationary or backwards relative to the ground,  as long as the airflow is enough. So using blown flaps and a headwind many aircraft could fly effectively at zero ground speed. In fact the Single Pioneer had problems actually getting a ground speed if the wind was more than a breeze! Vertical thrust is cheating really, all these jet thingys, its just raw power. the skill behind prop STOL was in making the air do the work, not just increasing the carbon footprint.

Answer 6

An ordinary airplane (or aeroplane) must move forward at or above a certain speed to stay in the air.  There are a few--I mean like fewer than half a dozen--specialized designs that can take off and land vertically and hover like a helicopter.  There are only a few, and the technology is difficult and costly to implement.

Some small aircraft can remain stationary over the ground, or even back up, in a strong headwind; this is not a property of the airplane, as the air is still moving over the wing at or above the necessary speed.

So the answer is no:  an ordinary airplane must move forward to fly.

Answer 7

Sure they're considered airplanes Paul. They do "plane" the air right? And to answer the question, yes, if the headwind is equal to the airspeed an airplane will remain stationary over the ground. A little more wind, it'll move backwards.

Answer 8

Yes.

1. When the wind speed is equal to the air speed.

2. Harrier Jets do it all the time, they have jet nozzles that can be rotated to point down.

Answer 9

I worked on the early V-22 tilt rotors a little and the new F-35 fighter has a variant designed to replace the Harrier. F-35 B. Lockheeds system is much more modern and safer than the Harriers. Actually Harriers have the highest crash rate of any aircraft in service with the USA because they are so complex. I don't even think the marines who operate them like them. Conventional aircraft are designed to fly basically in a straight line, turn and bank. Not backwards and forwards like Helicopters. Harry the F-35 B can take off vertically, hover and land vertically and the engine/flight control system are much safer than the Harriers. the Harrier dates back to the sixties and was worked on by Sir Sydney Camm who designed WWII's Hurricane and started aviation work in WWI. It is old in other words and not nearly as reliable or safe as the new F-35 B. The F-35 C is the variant designed for carrier operations it is a conventional aircraft......The F-35 A is for USAF and also conventional. The B is for the RAF and the US marines. I don't like the V-22 any longer but Bell seems to have gotten it to work finally so its going into service. The F-35, including the B is not having any of the problems the V-22 had so far. it is so smooth it almost like the F-16's early program.....John B is right but I have never seen it happen and no one in their right mind would do that deliberately in a conventional design.

Answer 10

no.

Answer 11

I worked on the AV8-B and it major problem it has was that in a hover it would draw in hot air into the engine causing reduced thrust, even with a 60 gal water tank.

The F-35B is actually more complex than the AV8-B because in a hover the eng exhaust thrust is pointed down, a power take off shaft spins up the a fan behind the c/p and thats were the problem is, is that the shaft shears off . The Russians had the same problem in the 60's. Plus the price tag is quickly approaching the same price tag of the f-22 that we don't need.

Answer 12

Yes! For example the Harrier can vertically take off and land.

It can also hover above the ground.

Answer 13

What John B said.