Transparency Master

There are four forces acting on an aircraft in flight, as shown in the diagram above.

In straight and level flight weight exactly balances lift and drag exactly balances thrust.

Concepts of Flight

1. Understanding Drag
2. Understanding Thrust
3. Understanding Weight
4. Understanding Lift

1. Which two forces are "provided by nature" and which two forces must we provide in order to allow flight to occur?

   Nature provides weight and drag (air friction). These two forces are ubiquitous in nature.

   In order to have flight we must have the technical means to provide thrust ( to overcome drag) and lift ( to overcome weight).

2. List and explain two ways one might reduce drag.

   Details may be found in item 1 above (i.e. Understanding Drag )

3. List and explain two ways in which we might reduce weight.

   Details may be found in item 1 above (i.e. Understanding Weight )

4. List and explain two ways in which you might increase lift.

   Details may be found in item 1 above (i.e. Understanding Lift )

© Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 Gamma Tau Associates Inc. Copyright permission is hereby granted to licensed users for restricted educational use only. This resource may not be reproduced, modified for re-sale or sold "as-is" without explicit written permission from the authors. Additional educational materials, including mathematics and language arts resources, may be obtained from: http://www.gta.ca All educational reproductions of this document must include this copyright notice.