The force on an airplane's wing from the air flowing past it is mostly perpendicular to the wing's flat surface; this is the force that holds the plane aloft in level flight. Given this fact, why do planes "bank" when making a turn?

Question

Physics

Barrett Osborne

11 April, 17:45

The force on an airplane's wing from the air flowing past it is mostly perpendicular to the wing's flat surface; this is the force that holds the plane aloft in level flight. Given this fact, why do planes "bank" when making a turn?

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Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Valentin Holland · Answer 1

It is due to the movement of the ailerons, they change the profile of the wing and the lift of each one of them, decreasing the support in the wing of the turning side and increasing the lift in the wing opposite the side of the turn, tilting the plane.

Explanation:

The airplanes incline when turning because to turn they use the so-called ailerons that one is in each wing. These ailerons can be turned in the opposite way, when you lower one you must necessarily raise the other. When making a turn the plane, moves its ailerons changing the profile of the wing. It leans towards the high side, which rotates because the wing wing rises, increasing the upper surface of the wing, decreasing the air velocity, thereby decreasing the lift strength on that wing. At the same time the wing on the opposite side lowers its wing by changing the wing profile and generating greater lift on that wing, accompanying the plane's tilt movement.