Patrick BohanonMay 2005

Wing Shape

• The top of the wing is curved.

• The bottom of the wing is flat

Wing Shape

• This shape allows the air to move quicker across the wing

• Larger wings create more lift

Wing Shape

A smooth shape for wings is much better than a box shape because a box shape doesn’t produce much lift.

Wing Shape- Airfoils

• The shape of the cross section of a wing is called an airfoil

• The highest point of an airfoil is a short way back from the front of a wing

Lift (Air Pressure)

The air moves faster over the wing than under. This creates less pressure on the top than on the bottom. When the higher pressure on the bottom pushes the plane up, it creates lift.

Lift

• Lift is an aerodynamic force

• Lift holds an airplane in the air

• Gravity opposes lift

Downwash

• Downwash is made by air coming down from the curved top of the wing

• Downwash is also made by air buncing off the bottom of the wing

• Downwash reduces lift

Downwash

Ailerons

• Ailerons control the roll around the longitudinal axis.

• Ailerons work simultaneously.

Ailerons- Orville Wright “…The wings on the

right and left sides could be warped so as to present their surfaces to the air at different angles of incidence and thus secure unequal lifts on the two sides…” -Orville Wright on

the idea of ailerons

Flaps

The idea of flaps originated in 1930s. Flaps help create lift when the plane takes off. Flaps also create drag and slow the plane down when it is landing.

Lift/Drag Ratio

• The ratio of Lift to Drag is the aerodynamic efficiency of an airplane

• An airplane has a high L/D ratio if it produces much lift or a small amount of drag.

Lift

Drag

About Me My favorite thing

to do is to play basketball. I played on the basketball team at school and I play at the YMCA. My favorite team is Georgia Tech. My best buddy and loving friend is named David Hill.I’m the tall one and

David is the short one

Bibliography• Brain, Marshall and Adkins, Brian. “How

Airplanes Work.” How stuff works. May 2nd, 2004 <http://travel.howstu ff works.com/airplane.htm>

• Burke, J.D.. The Gossamer Condor and Albatross: A Case Study in Aircraft Design. Pasadena, California: AeroVironment Inc., 1980

• Gunston, Bill. The Anatomy of Aircraft. Stamford, Connecticut: Longmeadow Press, 1990