What makes a plane stay up in the sky for such an extended amount of time?

Question

I know the history of aircraft, but i never understood what gives airplanes the power to "defy gravity" and fly in the air.

Answer 1

their are four force to keep aircraft in balance ,

the lift force in wing up direction, the thrust force for word direction,the drag force back direction and weight down direction

Answer 2

There's no magic involoved in flight. It's just physics. There's four forces of flight: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. All of these forces act equal in level unaccelerated flight. In order for a plane to fly thrust must overcome drag, and lift must overcome weight. This is done by either a propellor or jet engine probelling and accelerating the aircraft forward. When time to lift off the elevator will pull up which allows the plane to nose up. The wings is designed so the low pressure occurs under the wing. This is where the lift comes from. After once airbourne, it's simple enough that thrust and lift keep overpowering weight and drag.

Answer 3

You will need to define "extended amount of time", the aviation world is still striving for more endurance.

Airplanes dont defy gravity. Flight is the result of forces being generated by the airplane that is stronger than the gravitational force. As ever, the stronger of the contesting force wins and the airplane flies. There is nothing mysterious in that.

Now generating the forces required to counter gravity and directing them in the desired direction is sheer engineering. Understanding that is quite a task.

Answer 4

Thrust from the engine makes the plane move forward, causing air to move above & below the wings.

Air moving around the wings creates lift due to the shape of the wing, which is relatively flat on the bottom and curved on the top. The curve forces air to move further over the top of the wing than the bottom (think of running from home plate directly to second base without touching first base ~ you get there quicker). It's a law of physics that says fast moving air has relatively lower air pressure than slower moving air, so this creates a zone of low pressure on top of the wing, which means there's higher pressure under the wing. This provides lift.

Thrust & Lift overcome the Drag (friction caused by the plane moving through the air) and Weight (gravity trying to bring the plane down). When Thrust, Lift, Drag, and Weight are all balanced out, the aircraft will fly until landed by the pilot ... or until fuel runs out, whichever comes first.

Answer 5

The same thing that makes one stay up in the sky for a short time, only more so.

For lots of information including pictures and diagrams that will help you understand, try an internet search on "basic aerodynamics."  Good luck.

Answer 6

The profile of a wing is such that the top surface is curved, or bulged. The bottom of the wing is flat.  Air takes longer to go over the top of the wing than under the bottom. This means more air under the wing. More air means more pressure. With less pressure over the wing. As long as the plane can be propelled forward, it will stay in the air.

Answer 7

Love.

Seriously, would they be easier to understand if they only stayed in the sky for a little while?