Airplanes and sailboats

[Fred]

Relavant quote from an obscure train song called

The Dummy LineI said to the conductor "can't you speed it up a bitHe said "you can walk if you don't like it"I said "old man, I would take your dare,but the folks won't come to meet me 'till the train gets there"

 

[slip knot10761]

headway or headache?

The only thing my boat makes is a dented wallet but the cash does go out at 10 knots.

 

[Ross]

Tom, you can see the results with a tracked

vehicle. The portion of the continuous track that is on the groung is stationary and the portion on top is moving twice as fast as the vehicle.

 

[tom]

Major flaw Ross

If the part of the tire that is on the road doesn't move how do the tires last 40,000 miles??? My tires go down the road at the same speed as my car. It would be really akward if my tires stuck to the road and didn't move. You could make the same argument about my feet not moving when they are on the ground...true but on average they move at the same rate as I walk.

 

[higgs]

Guy H...Hmmmmmm

I am only a musician, but something does not sound right about the fly adding weight to the plane, when the fly is in flight. Consider this: We are told that air pressure at sea level is 14.7 lbs per sq. inch. If what you say is correct, then that pressure should increase with every airplane and fly that is flying at any given time. Put eough planes and flies in the air at onetime and earth could turn into a black hole. Perhaps my analogy is right - if we put enough stuff in our atmosphere we will indeed get crushed. I am going to email my physicist friend to find out the answer.What a great winter puzzle!

 

[SailJunkie]

blame it on Bernouli!

after all, airplanes and sailboats move forward the same way but at different angles...

 

[Ron5064]

First of all, it should be Sailboats and airplanes and while building the Cog railway on Mt. Washington, a pilot used to land his piper cub in a 50mph head wind with a 50 landing speed, (the speeds are not exact just a guess) taking off was very interesting.Fair windsRon

 

[JoeB]

Light speed

So this is like, if the space shuttle could go the speed of light, what would happen if they turned on the head lights? Hmmmm . . . #0

 

[higgs]

More thoughts from someone who knows nothing

I think the fly did add to the weight of Lindberg's plane, but not directly. Every flying object must displace its weight. The more objects flying the more atmosphere displaced and the displaced atmosphere can only go up, increasing sea level air pressure. Therefore, Lindberg's plane had to overcome increased air pressure as a result of the fly's displacement and thus needed more fuel to keep going. I have been drinking beer tonight and that should be taken into account.

 

[Ross]

Tom it is the average that is going to get

you. When you're walking and your foot is on the ground it is not moving but when you step your foot moves faster than your body and gets out in front, hits the ground and stops and the other foot moves. If you had been in Harford county this weekend you wouldn't have been able to depend on that sequence because everything was ice covered and there was no assurance that your foot would stop at the end of each step.

 

[Ross]

As to the fly question:

is an insect in flight any different than a particle in suspension?

 

[higgs]

Ross again

Fly vs. particle: No difference except mass.

 

[Franklin]

re: Light speed

If a plane flying faster then sound can beat the sound to a spot, then a plane traveling the speed of light may have a headlight on, but you will not see it until it hits you.

 

[mortyd]

answers

ross, and others, AN OBJECT CREATING LIFT THROUGH VELOCITY AND ANGLE OF ATTACK, IS NOT BUOYANT, IT IS FLYING. capsicsi? flying, no weight. no force on the earth below. lift. flying... for some others; since wilbur and orville, bernoulli is back with his pipes; not with wings.

 

[Franklin]

lift

Is the pressure on one side (under side) being stronger then the pressure on the other side (top side). The object is pushed up. That pressure is also applied to earth (have to have a place to push from). So just because a plane is in the air, the weight of earth doesn't change.I am not a physicist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night

 

[Ross]

MortyD, My question was/is what is the fundamental

difference between a particle in suspension and and insect in flight? Coal is transported hundreds of miles as a suspension or slurry but in any case we are still dealing with a fluid filled with solids.

 

[mortyd]

answers

guys, i had a wonderful math teacher, on my way to a masters in aeronautical engineering, who said there are an infinite number of wrong anwers. all are welcome to believe my science or whatever they choose instead.

 

[Roger (Ninette Manitoba)]

small planes

So let me add to the frey! Lets say for sake of argument that a light plane needs 60 mph to rotate. The headwind is 55 mph, again for the sake of arguement. My math figures that the plane still has to be moving thrugh the air at 60 mph to rotate, but with cancellations, the speed over ground at rotation is only 5 mph.If that agrees with your sense of logic, lets equalize the figures. A plane needs 60 mph to take off, but the head wind is also 60. The plane should be able to do both a vertical take off and landing.So lets push the arguement. Invert the figures... the wind is blowing at 60, but the plane only needs 55 to rotate/lift off. If the plane is not anchored, it should have lifted off 5 mph ago AND be flying backwards over ground. It should also be able to land backwards!

 

[Ross]

MortyD, I think that is called ducking the

question.;D

 

[mortyd]

answers

roger, an airplane flying fifty mph airspeed in a fifty-five mph headwind has a minus five mph groundspeed; backward. others, i answered the question completely and correctly in my first reply, no ducking.