How do airplanes actually fly? - Raymond Adkins

Explore the physics of flight, and discover how aerodynamic lift generates the force needed for planes to fly.

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By 1917, Albert Einstein had explained the relationship between space and time. But, that year, he designed a flawed airplane wing. His attempt was based on an incomplete theory of how flight works. Indeed, insufficient and inaccurate explanations still circulate today. So, where did Einstein go wrong? And how exactly do planes fly? Raymond Adkins explains the concept of aerodynamic lift.

Lesson by Raymond Adkins, directed by Michael Kalopaidis, Zedem Media.

This video made possible in collaboration with Marriott Hotels

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[AaronShenghao]

As an aerospace engineering graduate, this pretty much sums up what you learn in basic aerodynamics. And because of we still don’t know how it happened, we used a lot of coefficients (which is derived from experimental methods) to account for them

[ThShrike]

As an aerospace student, I adapted the policy of, if it works it works

[robertwilliams]

To summarise: "A wing doesn't work by accelerating the air over the top because a wing works by accelerating the air over the top. And engineers use equations that are unsolvable to solve their problems."

[riseALK]

I am more confused after watching this video.

[YoungGandalf]

I will continue to believe that it is magic.

[Dzjur.]

2:15 is a bit weird to me, centripetal acceleration does not necessarily generate more speed, with your car, it just changes direction. So as an explanation it feels unsatisfying

[MrJuliancarroll]

"The force you feel in a sharply turning car [arrows showing movement towards the outside of the curve] " is centrifugal force. Centripetal force is the force directed towards the inside of the turn, causing the acceleration of the car. Also, this video confuses turbulence with flow separation. They are very different things and aeroplanes often have vortex generators to induce turbulent flow as it delays flow separation.

[snowyginger]

Crazy to think that we actually have no definite answer to the question „how do planes fly“ and yet we just trust that it’s gonna happen every time we take off in one

[trevortrollface]

wow i'm absolutely amazed, i'm not really an engineering student or anything but i've had a really big interest in aircraft and the engineering behind them for years, the fact that i didn't even properly know how a wing worked is kinda crazy to me

[smitajky]

As a physicist and a practical person I have always believed in experiment. On a sail we use pieces of wool to determine the air flow. You pull the sail in until the downwind wool starts to flutter ( aerodynamic stall) then back off just a little. Keeping at that point gives the maximum "lift" ( in this case forward force) which helps us to win races.
On my sailboard the centreboard is symmetric. In a straight line it has no lift. But as the wind blows it effectively moves the boat at a slight angle to the forward direction. Now the centreboard generates great lift and opposes the motion. Meaning I don't get wet. So the angle of attack is the key component in this application not the curve of the board.

[sakethreddyvaka]

It was very intriguing to learn about the misconceptions first before diving into the actual definition of the generation of lift. The video was very creative and helped strengthen my understanding by listening to the topics of velocity, pressure difference and curved airflow.

[miriamrosemary]

I had heard the common "wrong" explanation so many times, so I accepted even though it didn't completely make sense to me! This was a fantastic video, thank you!

[Ichibuns]

There is so much more to this. I hope videos like these push people into digging deeper. TEDs are the best

[calumwalton]

This is a good introduction to the corrections of the misconceptions of lift. I encourage everyone to keep diving into the subject.

[proxy_]

As a student going through Aerospace Engineering, this is a very good introduction to lift. We learn about a bunch of models and methods to determine lift. I believe it is the circulation model that relates to the Navier-Stokes equations. Its a very interesting model and I encourage anyone interested to look into it!

[vijayganesh]

I remember during my aerospace engg degree- a senior professor was teaching us aerodynamics - and he asked the class why is there high velocity on the top of the wing- I and many of classmates quotes that because the air particle have to cover a longer distance- after hearing this, prof corrected us and gave the above-mentioned reason

[harshitkumar]

As an Aerospace Engineering student, this was fulfilling to watch.

[mikequinn]

No mention of the role of the angle of attack factor here. AOT, about 3 degrees, causes the wing to push the air down which, combined with lift as detailed in this article, enables flight to occur. The wing is “skiing” on the air, in much the same way that a water ski glides over water. When the skier’s speed drops too low to sustain “flight” the skier and the ski “stall” and both fall back into the water. This is precisely how a fixed wing aircraft lands, it stalls gently (usually!) onto the ground. At least that is how it was all explained to me when I was gaining my (humble) private pilot’s license over 40 years ago.

[alexanderstar]

Ted-ed makes complicated subjects so easy to understand and fun to learn. The top-notch animation and narration is one of the best in Youtube.I am just so grateful there are channels like this where I can both learn new things and have a fun time😂👍👍.