Is It Possible to Fly a Plane Upside Down?

Although the plane is seen as an indispensable way of fast and comfortable travel, perhaps this vehicle is among the phobias of most of us. Especially the the plane had to turn upside down Contrary situations such as this mean that things become even more complicated.

Without further ado, how is it possible for planes to fly upside down? Which planes can survive such a disaster scenario? let’s see.

There are four different flight components required for an airplane to fly inverted.

The four forces that act on an aircraft and are necessary for flight are; thrust (power), drag, lift and gravitational force. Three of these four components continue to exert nearly the same physical force even if the aircraft turns upside down.

This is because regardless of whether an aircraft continues its normal flight or is inverted, basically the way of flying remains the same. No matter which direction the plane flies, if it is to stay in the air, it must have lift.

One of the problems with flying upside down is that an airplane is generally designed to produce lift only when flying with its right side up.

This is because the upper parts of the airfoils are designed to be largely rounded and the lower parts to be flat. In this case, air It forces the aircraft to move faster in the upper areas than in the lower areas.

Due to different air speeds, higher pressures occur under the wings of the aircraft. On the wings, this pressure decreases in the opposite way. In fact, this difference in pressure How planes can generate lift and fly through the air explains.

In short, when the aircraft is inverted, this effect is the opposite, and this aircraft naturally produces a downward force instead of lift.

The downward force that increases as the aircraft inverts is only By varying the angle of attack replaceable. This is the angle made by the airflow flying over the front parts of the wings.

Even if the airfoil is designed to produce lift only when the right side is up, this is only cruising and climbing may occur during. In the opposite case, it would not be possible to land the plane.

Under normal circumstances, when the pilot heads towards the airport to land, he tilts the nose of the plane forward and changes the angle of attack.

This action of the pilot, It reduces the effect of lift force and the aircraft’s altitude decreases. The same logic applies when the plane is inverted. Regardless of the shape of the wing profile, the pilot can change the angle of attack and activate the lift force by creating a high pressure area under the wings.

To do this while the aircraft is in an inverted position, the pilot must lift the nose of the aircraft. But when the plane turns upside down, everything turns upside down and this situation causes lowering the nose of the aircraft similar.

Aircraft designed for inverted flight, such as acrobatic and stunt aircraft, have much simpler wing profiles.

The wings on these aircraft are rounded from both the bottom and the top, and since the air moves at the same speed at the bottom and top, the lift force is a symmetrical airfoil creates.

The purpose of symmetrical wing profiles is that planes can fly the same way as if they were right side up, even if their angles were reversed. Methods of pilots creating lift force in such aircraft, purely angle of attack It depends.

In summary, “How can planes fly upside down?” The answer to the question is, to produce buoyancy reserved. This is achieved by changing the angle of attack and different wing profiles.

So can all planes fly upside down?

Demonstration planes and aerobatic planes are specifically designed to fly right side up or upside down. Therefore, an inverted flight does not pose a problem for them. However, the pilot must correctly adjust the angle of attack in order to activate the lift force when inverted, and this is a problem for aircraft, including passenger aircraft. other aircraft types are quite challenging due to their design It is possible.

However, if the pilot of a commercial or passenger aircraft has the expertise to turn the aircraft over, Theoretically, it is possible for it to fly upside down, albeit for a short time. However, this is a dangerous situation that requires experience, and not every aircraft is suitable for this.

In a scene from the movie Flight, a passenger plane flies for a short time. forced to fly inverted It is possible to see the scenario:

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