Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]- --On Thursday, March 07, 2002 03:14:19 AM +0800 Douglas Herr <telyt@earthlink.net> wrote: > Ernest Nitka wrote: > >> why is that airplanes can fly upside down - if >> flying upright caused a vacuum just above the wing >> creating lift then flying upside down should cause >> the wing to move down. This has bothered me for >> near on 2 decades. I get bothered easily >> >> ernie >> > > The airplane's wing is designed to produce lift efficiently at it's > normal angle of attack but it can produce additional lift inefficiently > by increasing the angle of attack (until it stalls). The upside-down > airfoil relies on a high angle of attack to produce lift but does so very > inefficiently. All true. However, airplanes designed for aerobatic use have a so-called "symetrical" wing, such that both top and bottom are lifting airfoils. In fact, when doing four-point rolls -- where the airplane is in knife-edge flight for two of the points -- the fuselage itself is the "wing" and is providing significant lift at those moments. To keep this on topic, I personally always carry one of my Leicas when doing this kind of thing. :-) Rolfe - -- Rolfe Tessem rolfe@ldp.com Lucky Duck Productions, Inc. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html