Understanding Flight

David Anderson and Scott Snider

Major Topics

The website has the following major sections:

  1. Misconceptions of the Physics of Flight. We discuss the three major misconceptions that derail the factual understanding of the physics of flight.
    1. Misconception #1 – Bernoulli Misconception
    2. Misconception #2 – Wing Shape Importance
    3. Misconception #3 – Airflow Direction
  2. Lift on the Wing – We explain Newton’s laws of motion allowing one to factually state the lift on any wing in a simple sentence. The details of how the lift of the wing is adjusted will also be discussed.
  3. Power – We explain how the airplane’s power requirements change with load, speed, and air density. We will also present a simple, intuitive explanation and derivation of the power curve.
  4. Ground Effect – This is easy to understand but often confused due to a lack of understanding of the physics of flight.
  5. Wing Vortices – The wing has two vortices: the wing sheet vortices and the wingtip vortices. The wingtip vortice, for all of its fame, is shown to be nothing but a “puff of smoke” with little energy or affect. Wing sheet vortices (aka wake vortices) have great power and affect.
  6. Spiraling Slipstream This is another common misconception and a clear violation of Newton’s first and third laws of motion.
  7. Coanda and Bernoulli –We discuss good physics that, unfortunately, is most often wrongly attributed to the Bernoulli principle. In a more enlightened world, few would know the name Bernoulli and many would know the name Coanda. Topics such as the ping pong ball in a jet of air, hurricanes ripping roofs off houses, the atomizer, and other phenomena will be discussed.

So, enjoy exploring the articles.