How does a airplane "lift its nose" up for takeoff?
Im confused as to how it actually "lifts its nose" is this done by the tail controls or the wings themselves? i just cannot figure it out. also I spoke to a captain of my american airlines flight from dallas ft.worth to stl about how the plan turns. he told me the tail has nothing to do with it. its just the wings. is this true?
Aircraft - 10 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Airplanes operate in three dimensions. They can pitch (nose up and down), roll (bank/turn), and yaw (nose side to side). Pitch is controlled by the elevator, which is a movable control surface on the horizontal portion of the tail. The nose is actually raised by forcing the tail down. Roll is controlled by ailerons, which are movable control surfaces on the outboard section of the wings. By moving the ailerons, the relative lift is different between the two wings, causing the airplane to roll/bank/turn. The tail has nothing to do with it. Yaw is controlled by the rudder, which is a movable control surface on the vertical portion of the tail. It is mainly used during takeoff and landing to compensate for the effect of wind.
2 :
like in 747-400, there's a very heavy metal that moves on rail. When the metal goes to the back, airplane gets to lift its nose. Every other airplane has a heavy metal that moves front and back. It's just a matter of size and weight. My friends told me
3 :
you know that is the hardest question ever,,,,,,,, but i think that airplanes engines are helping alot and with help with the wing flex and of coarse the hight speed maintained by the aircraft
4 :
The nose actually comes up after the roll-out to achieve airspeed required for take off. The nose-up and eventual take-off occur from the pilots control input to the yoke or the stick depending on the airplane .
5 :
Thumbs up to bizjet. Some of these answers are hilarious.
6 :
I can't believe some of the answers above! "Heavy metal...(!!!)" Wow! Please--no airplane uses a heavy metal weight for pitch control. Ridiculous! The whole idea is to keep them as light as possible. Just read Bizjet Flyer's answer. The pitch attitude is controlled by the elevators. Also run an internet search on "aerodynamics" and look on http://www.howstuffworks.com.
7 :
Bizjet is exactly right. that is how the control surfaces on a aircraft works.
8 :
Well to be able to lift off the ground you need lift which comes from the airplanes wings. once you have enough lift to support the aircraft you pull back on the controls which deflects the elevators on the tail of the airplane to lift the nose
9 :
The pilot causes the nose of the aircraft to rise by pulling back on the control yoke. There are hinged panels on the tail, called elevators, that can bend up and down. Pulling on the yoke raises the elevators, and when they are raised, the flow of air over them pushes the tail down, and raises the nose of the aircraft. Once the aircraft's nose is raised in this way, the wings start to produce a lot more lift—so much, in fact, that they pick the aircraft right up from the runway, and the airplane starts flying. The pilots wait until the airplane is going almost fast enough to fly even without raising its nose, and then they deliberately raise the nose to ensure that the airplane leaves the runway briskly. Pilots call this "rotation." This is a considerable simplification, but that's essentially how it works.
10 :
The primary method for controlling pitch is the elevator but power, when it is available and variable, also controls pitch. Add power and the nose goes up; reduce power and the nose goes down. Roll is produced by use of ailerons. Aileron deflection results in a change of the M.A.C. (mean aerodynamic chord) on each wing which results in more lift on the aileron down side and less lift on the aileron up side. This temporary imbalance of lift results in a moment of yaw on the down aileron side (added drag) and therein lies the need for the rudder: 'the purpose of the rudder is to compensate for adverse yaw created by aileron drag.' The rudder can also be used for entering and maintaining a 'slip' for crosswind landing purposes. Unfortunately, many novice pilots don't understand the proper use of the rudder and oftentimes use it for trying to steer the airplane. This kind of 'steering' results in a very dangerous yaw and when yaw is coupled with a stall, the immediate result is an unintended spin. These unintended spins at low altitudes are unrecoverable, even by experienced pilots, and almost always result in the death of all souls on board. 3500 hour flight instructor.
