What exactly happens when an airplane climbs. Am i correct that the flaps orient downward and elevators up?

Question

What exactly happens when an airplane climbs. Am i correct that the flaps orient downward and elevators up?

Answer 1

nope, heres what happens......

If lift is greater than weight, there is a net excess force upwards, and, since that excess force equals mass times acceleration, the plane accelerates in the direction of the excess force, in this case, upwards. And this is without thrust. If the thrust has an upward component, during climb, for example, this adds to the overall excess force upwards that leads to an upward acceleration. Examples of lift being greater than or less than weight without thrust are birds that soar or dip without the need to flap or generate thrust through rearward wing motion.

Answer 2

Depends on the aircraft. Some have no flaps. All that is required to climb is the proper angle of attack and some airspeed. The angle of incidence of the wing determines how much you need to raise the elevators to take off. Most of the time the yoke is pulled and elevators raised, but some aircraft with enough runway will take off without using the yoke or trim.

Lots of small aircraft have no flaps or trim and will take off if you firewall the throttle and jump out and let it go. Nearly all old conventional gear aircraft will do this and a lot of tricycle gear will.

A notable exception to the rule is the Aero Commander 500 series aircraft. The angle of incidence of the wing is negative and more speed makes it stick to the ground more, and you have to pull on the yoke and make it take off.

Answer 3

During the climb phase of an airliner, the configuration of the aircraft is adjusted so that the wings produce lift that exceeds the weight of the aircraft, forcing the aircraft upwards.

Flaps are used to provide extra lift at low speed, but they also create more drag.  A climbing aircraft is usually accelerating, however, so flaps are retracted in steps as the climb phase of a flight begins.  Retracting the flaps allows the aircraft to fly faster and more economically, and the extra lift isn't needed as the aircraft accelerates.

Elevators are used to adjust the pitch angle of the aircraft.  They are used to rotate the aircraft at take-off (pointing the nose up), which produces a huge increase in the lift from the wings and raises the aircraft smartly off the runway.  They are used in other phases of flight to adjust pitch as necessary.  During the climb phase of a flight, high throttle settings produce the climb, and pitch is adjusted to control the speed of the aircraft (down pitch causes acceleration, and up pitch causes deceleration). Pitch is used in the same way in other phases of flight.

Flaps extend downward from the trailing edge of the wings.  Elevators are on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizers and can move up or down.  On many airliners, the entire stabilizer moves, rather than just the rear portion—this is called a stabilator.

Answer 4

Flaps may be partially extended during takeoff, to increase lift at low speed and thus shorten the takeoff roll.  Because flaps also increase drag, they are retracted shortly after the airplane leaves the ground.

To climb, a pilot raises the nose of the airplane slightly.  There is a limit to how much the nose can be raised without causing a stall.

The nose is raised by tilting the elevators upward.  The climb can be continued to any suitable altitude within the regulations and the capabilities of the airplane.

For much more information about these matters, including pictures and diagrams, do an internet search on "basic aerodynamics" or "aircraft flight controls."

Answer 5

Elevators up. I've never taken off and seen the flaps down. I see the flaps out when landing though. Did you know the Concorde didn't use airfoils? All engine and attitude.  Well, if the 1st guy works for Boeing, I guess I can't argue. But why do they pull back on the controls when the plane hits V2 and the pilot issue a "rotate" command?