Airplanes .

Lift exceeds ~
weight
.
LIFT
/

.
.
Low~r air pressure on
wings upper surface

d
Airflow deflected
ownward by ...-
Airplanes come in a wide variety of : ••• .. .. •••'1: •., .. ,
.
~ . ..1ng
shapes and sizes, but they all fly .. -t~ ~ -~- ~~ -,
according to the same principles. • ( ) AIRFOIL · ~
Power generated by an engine
or propeller thrusts the plane -~.. •
•
• ••
.• ······· ·~ - ♦re ~
·--•H~gherairpress:
forward, while wings generate lift. Weightof i• : /
Thrust generated
by engine propels wing acts on lower surfa( e
airplane forward downward contributes to lift
How an airplane flies WEIGHT
When an airplane is propelled forward
by its engines (see pp.60-61), its wings slice Air flows chaotically,
and airplane stalls
through the air. A wing's shape, called an airfoil, STALLING
deflects the air downward. When the wing pushes
air down, the air acts in accordance with Isaac
Newton's third law of motion by pushing back
and producing an upward reaction force known
as lift. The air pressure above the wing falls, and the HIGH ANGLE OF The greater the angle of attack,
pressure below it rises, contributing to lift generated. ATTACK the greater the lift

Angle of attack
The angle between a wing and KEV
the oncoming air is called the • · ➔ Airflow
angle of attack. By increasing
this angle, more lift is created. •, ➔ Air pressure
If the angle is too big, the
airflow separates from the •· ➔ Force
NEGATIVE ANGLE OF
wing, which loses lift or stalls.
ATTACK

THE AIRBUS A380, THE

WORLD'S LARGEST
AIRLINER, HAS Undisturbed Angling wing downward produces
airflow downward pressure on wing,
4 MILLION PARTS causing plane to descend

Raised ~
Controlling an airplane
An airplane is steered by
aileron

••
.-·~ •
moving panels in the wings
and tail called control surfaces.
: ~• o :;,,!1!'!
- ..> - - ..!J- - - - - - - •
There are three types-elevators, • • •
•
ailerons, and a rudder. When the ••• ••
•• ••
pilot moves the flight controls, the
control surfaces move out into the Pitch Roll '--,
air flowing past the plane, which Elevators in the tail's horizontal stabilizers The aileron in one wing is raised, while
tilt up and down. Tilting them up pushes the aileron in the other wing is lowered.
rotates the plane in three ways- the tail down, and the plane climbs. This makes the first wing fall and the
pitch, roll, and yaw. Tilting them down makes the plane dive. second rise, making the plane roll.
 TRANSPO RTATION TECHNOLOGY
..............................................
Airplanes
. 62 /............
63 .

The air pressure experience_d on the

nd is caused by the weight of _ ~ Internal and
groU .
atmosphere above pressing d own. ~ external air
the . 'd pressure i.t
At ground level, ~he pres_sure ins1 e .71 are equal .71
d outside an airplane 1s the same.
an · .
A it climbs to its cruising I.
a tltu d e, t h e .· ➔ ~ T I I I I 'f"~ ~ -. .... ➔
ff · . I I I · , ➔ ~ --··
ai~ pressure outside t~e ~irplane . . ■
falls. The air pressure inside the cabin 1s L!" . ' l.:;_t I
~
maintained at a higher level by a system ll : ~
.71 '1, "· Internal air 71 '1, "'..
that pumps air from the engines into the pressure 1s
cabin. This ensures that there is enough 1' greater than 1'
oxygen for people to breathe. external pressure
GROUND LEVEL CRUISING LEVEL

CABIN ZONE 1

L
CABINZONE 2 CABIN ZON E 3

I~~. . COil lv" ovec: : valv-es___

~~
NM
Bypass air and cooled air
Cooled air from Stale~ h: mid air I
are mixed and circulated Dry air from engine
mixed with humid air

Some hot air bypasses - - --+

heat exchanger
Breathing at h igh alt itudes Outflow valve,
controlled by pressure
An airplane's crew and passenger s Hot, compressed - - ,~ sensors, releases air
breathe air from the engines known bleed air enters
from engine
as bleed air. This superhot air is first
chilled by a heat exchanger, called an
Cabin zones
air cycle machine. It is then mixed with
An airliner's cabin is
filtered recirculated air and fed into divided into clim ate
the plane. Stale air escapes through AIR zones, each with
INTAKE its own air supply,
an outflow valve that is opened or which can be
closed to regulate the pressure. controlled separately.

I
_,\ WHICH ISTHE
I
,', ··. •
LONGEST SCHEDULED
• I I I •• FLIGHT?
•• I I ••
__..._____ _ ,
I
A,,, :
.;;_
.
, ,
/ / ' .
: A nonstop flight from
Singapore to New York
• •- II
Yaw •• I covers 9,532 miles
S~iv_ eling the rudder in the vertical I
I
{15,341 km) in 17 hours
tail fin to o ne side p ushes t h e t ail in
the oppo,
·t e d'1rect1
s1 .o n, t urn .ing
the L' and 25 minutes.

~
P1ane s nose left or right. Rudder