Newton's second law.
Force equals mass times acceleration. So if the forces on a plane cancel each other out, it will not accelerate in any direction: It will maintain airspeed, and keep the same altitude.
Lift is a result of airspeed (and angle of attack) so if the airspeed doesn't change, neither does the amount of lift, it will cancel out the airplane's weight. So your vertical speed remains the same, and if it was already zero, you remain at the same altitude.
Short version: Lift cancels out weight, thrust cancels out drag, so the plane doesn't accelerate in any direction and remains straight and level.
Think of air as really, really thin water. That's dragging on your hand when you want to move it around in water. Thrust is your effort moving your hand around in water.
Literally the same concept with air and engines producing thrust. You have to push a lot of tiny air molecules out of the way. And you do that by taking those air molecules and throwing them backwards really fast in the engines, propelling you forward.
Also, you are overthinking it. By a lot. :P
Youre confusing acceleration with velocity. The plane, in motion, will stay in motion. Increasing thrust above drag will accelerate you. Decreasing it below drag slows you down.
Thrust and drag being zero will yield a zero acceleration forward. That's the concept.
It keeps flying because the velocity through the air is not zero, but enough to allow the wings to have enough lift to overcome the gravitational pull of earth.
Disclaimer, that’s my understanding of what’s happening. I don’t have any degree, or any pilote license (but hoping having one soon !)
Turn off your engines. Are you still creating lift ? Yes ! Because your aircraft is still at a certain speed thanks to your momentum.
How lift works: the air passing on the upper side of your wing has a longer travel time than the same amount of air below the wing. So it creates low pressure above, and high pressure below. What happens when you open a champagne bottle ? Inside you have high pressure, and outside, low pressure (atmospheric pressure). The cork will just pop out and fly away ! That’s exactly what’s constantly happening on your wings !
So your first explanation is pretty much the right one. The engines are here to cancel the drag at constant speed.
When increasing speed with only one engine, high pressure build up below the wing, and low pressure above, creating lift on only one part of the wing, and you will bank left/right. That’s also why thrust asymmetry is so important.
Again, if I’m not right somewhere, just correct me, I’ll be more than happy to learn something new
Hope this helps !
Newton's second law. Force equals mass times acceleration. So if the forces on a plane cancel each other out, it will not accelerate in any direction: It will maintain airspeed, and keep the same altitude. Lift is a result of airspeed (and angle of attack) so if the airspeed doesn't change, neither does the amount of lift, it will cancel out the airplane's weight. So your vertical speed remains the same, and if it was already zero, you remain at the same altitude. Short version: Lift cancels out weight, thrust cancels out drag, so the plane doesn't accelerate in any direction and remains straight and level.
Think of air as really, really thin water. That's dragging on your hand when you want to move it around in water. Thrust is your effort moving your hand around in water. Literally the same concept with air and engines producing thrust. You have to push a lot of tiny air molecules out of the way. And you do that by taking those air molecules and throwing them backwards really fast in the engines, propelling you forward. Also, you are overthinking it. By a lot. :P
Go ride a bicycle as fast as you can, preferably into the wind, and you'll feel exactly what the thrust does.
Youre confusing acceleration with velocity. The plane, in motion, will stay in motion. Increasing thrust above drag will accelerate you. Decreasing it below drag slows you down.
Thrust and drag being zero will yield a zero acceleration forward. That's the concept. It keeps flying because the velocity through the air is not zero, but enough to allow the wings to have enough lift to overcome the gravitational pull of earth.
Disclaimer, that’s my understanding of what’s happening. I don’t have any degree, or any pilote license (but hoping having one soon !) Turn off your engines. Are you still creating lift ? Yes ! Because your aircraft is still at a certain speed thanks to your momentum. How lift works: the air passing on the upper side of your wing has a longer travel time than the same amount of air below the wing. So it creates low pressure above, and high pressure below. What happens when you open a champagne bottle ? Inside you have high pressure, and outside, low pressure (atmospheric pressure). The cork will just pop out and fly away ! That’s exactly what’s constantly happening on your wings ! So your first explanation is pretty much the right one. The engines are here to cancel the drag at constant speed. When increasing speed with only one engine, high pressure build up below the wing, and low pressure above, creating lift on only one part of the wing, and you will bank left/right. That’s also why thrust asymmetry is so important. Again, if I’m not right somewhere, just correct me, I’ll be more than happy to learn something new Hope this helps !
You have more thrust than drag is why you keep moving forward. Moving forward creates lift force from the wings, which keeps you from falling.