Questions tagged [aircraft]
Aircraft are man-made vehicles intended to operate while flying through Earth's atmosphere.
305
questions
0
votes
1
answer
39
views
Calculating aerodynamic forces on a random object
I've set out to designing a game that would let the user design a vehicle/plane and then fly it around and I'm interested in what would be the best way to go about the physics aspect of it.
The 3d ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
33
views
Spinning top stabilisation for a type of aircraft/drone
Spinning tops use gyroscopic precession to be able to stay upright whilst spinning.
Would it be possible to use this phenomena to create a flying craft that would be stabilised by gravity and the ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
25
views
Is there a minimum power required to keep a drone or helicopter in the air - and if so, what is it? [duplicate]
Assuming a mass M and horizontal projection of area A for a hovering object (no wind) like a drone or helicopter, what's the minimum power required to keep it hovering? Let's assume no ground effects....
- 228
1
vote
0
answers
121
views
In gyroscopic effect of a quadcopter, why does precession cause torque, not vice versa?
I don't know if the header corresponds to my actual quest but i will explain.
In quadcopter dynamic equations of Newton-Euler formation that I have encountered in all academic publications, torque ...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
56
views
Does a helicopter fly because air is forced downwards, or because each rotor acts as an aerofoil to generate lift? [duplicate]
The answer may be a combination of the two.
Does a helicopter fly because air is caught by the rotor and thrown downwards, which causes an equal reaction in the opposite direction and 'throws' the ...
- 101
1
vote
2
answers
222
views
Why is accelerating more air slower more efficient than less air faster?
According to this answer on Aviation Stack Exchange, when propelling an airplane it is more efficient to accelerate a bigger amount of air a little than to accelerate a small amount of air a lot. Why ...
- 277
20
votes
7
answers
6k
views
Why aren't helicopter blades tapered?
From my understanding helicopter blades work similar to a planes wings, ie the air going over is faster due to the shape. So my question is why then are the blades rectangular? ie they are the same ...
- 973
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
Lift generated by airfoil and why does a flow with a positive angle of attack around a flat plate curve upwards instead of downwards?
I've recently been reading about what really causes lift on an airfoil and the article linked mentions that even a symmetric airfoil or even a flat plate generates lift as long as the angle of attack ...
- 531
0
votes
2
answers
63
views
Do airfoils need narrowing tails to create a forward force?
All airfoils I have seen become narrow towards the trailing edge.
Is it still possible to create a forward vector force if the shape becomes wider again after a narrow middle section?
I read that the ...
- 31
0
votes
0
answers
71
views
Calculate wind speed on aircraft given measurements of speed and heading
I have X amount of speed measurements of an aircraft, each measurement includes a heading and a forward ground speed.
What I want to do is to calculate the wind speed affecting the craft.
For example:
...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
31
views
Is the wing drag of induced drag + 2d drag at 0lift still accurate for cambered airfoils?
I have some work at uni that requires some aerofoil analysis to create a wing, but from the polar plots its clear that the cambered aeros have lower total 2d viscous drag (from xfoil) at the cl its ...
- 113
1
vote
1
answer
123
views
Mechanics of the "airplane" thrown at angle to the horizon
Good day!
I am interested in the solution of the following problem, could you please help me.
Suppose that we have some solid airplane. We throw this airplane at some angle $\theta$ to the horizon ...
2
votes
2
answers
106
views
Why is there sound aboard Concorde after it goes supersonic?
I recently saw a video from a passenger of Concorde after it goes supersonic. Inside the aircraft, there is still a loud roar similar to what we hear in aircraft today.
However, since the aircraft is ...
- 205
0
votes
1
answer
53
views
Why doesn't a Hang-glider Stop Moving Forward, Stall and Fall?
Why doesn't a hang-glider stop moving forward (because of air resistance), stall and fall?
0
votes
1
answer
67
views
What's the reason an airplane turning 180° from strong headwinds causing it to have no ground speed does not stall?
I saw a video of a small propeller plane hovering over the ground due to strong headwinds but then turns 180 degrees and flys away. I was trying to figure out if the plane shouldn't be stalling ...
- 1