Lesson Objectives
• Define aeronautics
• Describe four forces associated with
flying
• Describe how an airplane is controlled
• List at least three historical facts about
flying
• Construct an airplane
Aeronautics
Transportation
Terms
• What is Aeronautics? the study of navigation
through air or space. This includes airplanes,
hot air balloons, gliders, rockets, and satellites
• What is Aerospace? The study, science and
technology of travel in space above the Earth.
• What is Aerodynamics The study of the forces
acting on and around bodies, such as aircraft .
Difference between aeronautics and
aerospace
• Aeronautics deals with the study of
anything that flies—within and outside the
earth's atmosphere. Example hot air balloon
and rocket
• Aerospace deals with the study of flying
outside earth's atmosphere. Example shuttle
What is an airplane
• An airplane is an engine-driven vehicle that
can fly through the air supported by the
action of air against its wings
Which Newton’s law of motion
directly applies to flying?
•
Sir Isaac Newton proposed three laws of motion
in 1665. These Laws of Motion help to explain
how a plane flies.
• Newton’s 3rd law of motion directly
applies to flying
What does Newton’s Third Law of Motion states?
• Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that
for every action, there is an equal but
opposite reaction.
What are the four forces acting on
Airplanes when it flies?
The four forces that act on
an airplane are:
1. Lift - upward
2. Drag - down and
backward
3. Weight (gravity) downward
4. Thrust - forward
What is Weight (gravity) force?
• Weight force is Earth's gravity
pulling down on a plane.
What is Lift force?
• Lift is the force that pushes the plane upward. The wings
give planes lift. Air moves under the wings. But, air moves
faster on top of the wings.
• The slower air pushes on the wing more than the faster air.
This makes the plane rise.
What is Thrust force?
• Thrust is the force that moves the plane
forward. A propeller pulls a plane forward.
• A jet engine also pushes a plane.
What is Drag force?
• Drag force slows the plane. You can
feel drag when you stick your hand
out the window of a moving car.
Which forces are opposite to each
other?
• Gravity (weight) and Lift
• Thrust and Drag
Forces used for airplane speed
• Thrust is the force that
moves the plane forward.
A propeller or jet engine
pulls a plane forward.
• Drag slows the plane.
You can feel drag when
you stick your hand out
the window of a moving
car.
Which forces are used for taking
off and landing?
• Forces used for Taking off
– Thrust-propeller faster, forward movement
– Lift-making air under wings stronger, plane
lighter
• Forces used for Landing
– Drag—more drag, heavier plane, coming down
– Lift—less lift, slower plane
History of Flight
• Around 400 BC – Chinese discovered how kites could fly in the air by
the which started humans thinking about flying.
• In the 1480s Leonardo da Vinci made the first real studies of flight. He
had over 100 drawings that illustrated his theories on flight.
• The Ornithopter flying machine was never actually created. It was a
design that Leonardo da Vinci created to show how man could fly. The
modern day helicopter is based on this concept.
Leonardo da Vinci
- The Ornithopter
1488
Leonardo da
Vinci - The
Ornithopter
History of Flight continues
• The brothers, Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier,
invented the first hot air balloon. They used the smoke from a fire
to blow hot air into a silk bag. The silk bag was attached to a
basket. The hot air then rose and allowed the balloon to be lighterthan-air.
• In 1783, the first passengers in the colorful balloon were a duck, a
chicken, and a sheep. It climbed to a height of about 6,000 feet and
traveled more than 1 mile.
• The first manned flight was on November 21, 1783, the passengers
were Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent.
History of Flight continues
1891 Lilienthal's Gliders
•
•
•
German engineer, Otto Lilienthal, studied aerodynamics and worked to design
a glider that would fly. He was the first person to design a glider that could fly
a person and was able to fly long distances.
He was fascinated by the idea of flight. Based on his studies of birds and how
they fly, he wrote a book on aerodynamics that was published in 1889
After more than 2500 flights, he was killed when he lost control because of a
sudden strong wind and crashed into the ground.
Lilienthal before takeoff with first glider, near the small village of
Derwitz, outside of Potsdam, Germany - 1891
Lilienthal after takeoff with first glider - 1891
History of Flight continues
1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright and the First Flight
• Orville and Wilbur Wright were very deliberate in their quest for flight.
• First, they spent many years learning about all the early developments of flight. They
completed detailed research of what other early inventors had done. They read all the
literature that was published up to that time. Then, they began to test the early theories
with balloons and kites. They learned about how the wind would help with the flight and
how it could affect the surfaces once up in the air.
• A Model of a Wright Brothers Glider (1900) The next step was to test the shapes of
gliders much like George Cayley did when he was testing the many different shapes that
would fly. They spent much time testing and learning about how gliders could be
controlled.
Drawing: Patent drawing from Wright brothers' patent
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Myths and Legends of Flight
• Bellerophon the Valiant, son of the King of Corinth,
captured Pegasus, a winged horse. Pegasus took him to a
battle with the triple headed monster, Chimera.
• Daedalus was an engineer who was imprisoned by King
Minos. With his son, Icarus, he made wings of wax and
feathers. Daedalus flew successfully from Crete to Naples,
but Icarus, tried to fly too high and flew too near to the
sun. The wings of wax melted and Icarus fell to his death
in the ocean.
• King Kaj Kaoos attached eagles to his throne and flew
around his kingdom.
• Alexander the Great harnessed four mythical wings
animals, called Griffins, to a basket and flew around his
realm.