What keeps a plane from falling out of the sky?

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I’ve been flying as passenger in airplanes and it’s kinda scary when the plane does this tilt and I feel something in my torso like it’s sinking.

Sometimes I happen to get scared thinking the plane might fall and especially when the pilot is doing a big tilting turn. How does the plane not fall when pilot does a tight turn? How does the pilot make sure the plane doesn’t crash? I’m scared.

In: Physics

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

You have to think of air as a liquid. Air is not nothing. The wings of the plane and the speed will force a strong upward force onto the plane. If the plane is tilting in a direction, the airflow is directed to push the plane into a different direction. And turbulence is caused by the fact that there are some patches in our atmosphere which have a lot less density than its surroundings. This is what causes the plane to drop down a bit. Its nothing to worry about tho. Just enjoy the possibility of flight. Its really cool 🙂

Anonymous 0 Comments

The engines are constantly putting out at least some thrust to keep air moving over the wings and generating lift.

Many modern planes also have computer systems that warn/discourage/prevent pilots from inadvertently making a control input that could lead to a stall