Today’s Topic: The equations and meaning of the main 4 forces acting on an airplane
The main 4 forces are: Lift, Weight, Thrust, and Drag.
Forces acting on an airplane (Wikimedia commons)
Lift: The force applied upward and perpendicular to the direction that an object is moving. Necessary for aircraft to lift (upwards). Lift counters gravity’s (weight) downward force during horizontal flight.
Weight: The force causing an object to gravitate toward the earth. It acts vertically downward and opposes the lift force.
Thrust: The force that drives an object forward in its motion. It resists the drag force. Moves forward if the force produced by a propeller is larger than the drag force.
Drag: The force that opposes an object’s motion in its direction. It decelerates rearward and opposes push.
Please refer to the following table for meaning and units of each variables
