Now that I have explained the four forces of flight, I can explain how each part of the plane generates enough force for flight. In order for a plane to take off, enough lift must be generated so lift is greater than weight. Wings are responsible for generating the majority of lift. As a plane flies through the air, air splits over the top and bottom of the wing. High pressure pushes the bottom of the wing and low pressure on the top of the wing push the wing up, forcing the plane up. This force due to pressure on the plane is known as the Bernoulli component of lift. As the plane flies forward, air flows over the plane in the opposite direction. The velocity of the air that passes over the wing has a net return and results in a downward force on the air. This causes an upward force on the wing (due to Newton’s 3^rd law) known as the Newtonian component of lift.

               Flaps on a plane are moving parts along the trailing edge of the wing which, when rotated downward, deflect air downward. As the amount of air being pushed down increases, an increase in lift is generated. When the air flows off the top of the wing and the flap is too steep, the air breaks off into swirls, creating more drag. This enables the plane to slow down significantly. In this way flaps are responsible for slowing down the plane and permitting the plane to land on a runway much sooner and more safely than landing without flaps. The diagram below shows the difference between a plane landing with flaps, and a plane landing without flaps. The plane’s landing distance in green is the plane with flaps, whereas the plane’s landing distance in blue is the plane without flaps. When flaps are used, wind is able to slow down the plane by pushing against the plane more, causing the plane to slow down and land sooner. 

             Before I get into detail about aircraft structures and composites, let us address the general question, how do planes fly? There are four principles that determine whether a plane is able to fly. These four forces are lift, thrust, drag and weight. The shape of the wing is responsible when generating lift. The shape of the wing’s cross section is an airfoil. According to Bernoulli’s Principle, relative wind, the wind that passes over the wing, helps the airfoil generate lift by having high pressure flow through the bottom of the wing, forcing the plane up, while the low pressure flows over the top of the wing at a faster rate. The force of thrust is responsible for moving the aircraft forward. The propeller or the jet engine is responsible for generating thrust in order to propel the plane forward. Lift and thrust aid the plane in flying.

               The two other forces counteract lift and thrust and are responsible for encouraging engineers to keep innovating in order to reduce the influence of weight and drag to improve the efficiency of flight. The weight force is the force due to gravity, the gross weight of the plane, pulling the plane down. In order for a plane to fly, the lift force generated must be greater than the weight. The gross weight of a plane is composed of the payload, the amount of fuel, and the empty weight. If not enough lift is generated in order to be greater than the weight, an accident is waiting to occur. The force counteracting thrust is drag. Drag is formed from the aircraft’s existence due to the aircraft’s resistance to move through the fluid of air. The force of thrust must be greater than the force of drag in order for the plane to move forward. This is the general overview of how flight occurs.   

My name is Adwith Malpe and I am a senior attending BASIS Peoria. This is my Senior Research Project blog where I will be explaining to you what I will learn about my interests over the course of three months. Before I start explaining what my project is about, let me introduce myself and show you what a nerd I can be.

Growing up, I was always fascinated by super heroes and what they were able to do. There was one superhero that stood out to me and was responsible for shaping my interests. The Marvel hero Iron Man inspired me and showed me how technology impacts our lives as well as how we are able to constantly innovate to complete tasks efficiently. People who know me, recognize me as a wannabe Iron Man. However, what they do not understand is that I look at Iron Man as a symbol of change. This character is the source of my inspiration and encouraged me to look into aeronautical engineering as a field of study in college.

The more I thought about how aeronautical engineering can be improved by enabling planes to travel larger distances without an increase in energy consumption, to carry a larger payload while ascending a higher altitude, to have a different structure when improving aerodynamics, and to be composed from a lighter composite material that is even more sturdy, the more I realized that efficiency in flight technology must increase for society to improve. For my project, I will be researching how the design and the material composition of a plane's structure improves efficiency in aeronautics through my internship at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the teachings of Dr. Wallace Morris. I will learn how the design of planes increase the number of benefits and reduce the number of costs.

The purpose of my project is to find a solution in eliminating the number of restraints when developing new pieces to improve the system in aerodynamics. I will accomplish this by analyzing the structure of planes and how the laws of aerodynamics are taken into account, examining the material composites used in the interior and exterior of the plane, and how the power to weight ratio varies when there is a change in the plane's structure.With the research I collect, I can develop a solution where the services of planes will improve significantly, based of modifications to their present form.