The physics of flight
Welcome! I'm excited to explore the science of flight with you. To make sure we tailor this journey to your unique background, where are you starting from?
I am a complete beginner, but I'm fascinated by how airplanes actually stay up.
It is wonderful to have you here! Staying airborne seems almost like magic, but it actually boils down to a beautiful, continuous tug-of-war between just four physical forces.
Your path
Controlling the Aircraft
Aerodynamic Stability and Advanced Concepts
The Four Forces in Balance
To understand how a heavy metal tube stays aloft, we have to look at the four competing forces acting on it at every moment: , weight, thrust, and .
A 2D side-profile diagram of a simple airplane in mid-flight showing the four aerodynamic forces of lift, weight, thrust, and drag as colored vectors intersecting at the center of gravity.
As you can see in the diagram, these forces exist in perfect opposition. Lift fights the downward pull of gravity (weight), while the engine's forward push (thrust) fights the air resistance pushing back (drag). Let's look at how they interact.