Flight not going up?
Posted: January 14th, 2024, 9:21 am
Does the wing have any effect on if it goes up/down/straight? If yes, how should it be positioned?
Yes, the position of the wing can have a significant effect on the direction of flight. The angle at which the wing meets the oncoming air is called the angle of attack, and by changing this angle, you can affect how much lift a wing creates. If the wing is tilted upward, it creates more lift to a certain point. Tilting a wing up too much actually decreases lift because this can cause the plane to stall.
In addition to the angle of attack, the shape of the wing also affects the direction of flight. Airplane wings are shaped to make air move faster over the top of the wing. When air moves faster, the pressure of the air decreases. So the pressure on the top of the wing is less than the pressure on the bottom of the wing. The difference in pressure creates a force on the wing that lifts the wing up into the air.