Aircraft

From Conservapedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Aircraft are machines that fly up into the air. The earliest aircraft were kites and hot air balloons. Dirigibles filled with hydrogen proved airworthy, but there was always the problem of combustion (see Hindenburg disaster).

Rapid flight is made possible with a wing shape which forces the air over the wing to move faster than the air underneath. This creates a difference in air pressure, and with enough wing area a pressure differential of even one pound per square inch can add up to enough force to keep a glider in the air. The only problem then is that gliders must soon return to the earth. For an extended flight, something must pull the aircraft through the air.

Many attempts were made to achieve heavier-than-air flight (outside of balloons) towards the end of the 19th century, in Europe and America. However, even when engines became powerful enough to pull an airplane through the sky, the problem was control. The Wright Brothers solved this problem by realizing that twisting the wings would control the roll of the aircraft.

Personal tools