Monday, July 8, 2013

Upside Down

Air Show 2013-07-05 13

How can an airplane ever fly upside down? It baffles me when I see an aerobatic show. You know, the wings are shaped to create less air pressure on the top, and thus lift. It you turn the machine over it should push the machine straight into the ground.

Of course, they do fly that way. Turns out it's a combination of a special wing shape and the angle of the wing (and the plane itself) as it pushes through the air. There's a good explanation here. But there are even more complex issues. How come the engine doesn't starve for gasoline and seize from lack of oil pressure? Engineering to the rescue, as this describes.

I threw in the bottom picture just to give a sense of the scene along the Mississippi River during the show.               

Air Show 2013-07-05 11

Air Show 2013-07-05 10

Air Show 2013-07-05 15 
Air Show 2013-07-05 16



9 comments:

cieldequimper said...

That would scare me to death...

Olivier said...

super show et photos. tu dois avoir un beau zoom pour arriver a faire ces photos

En reponse a ta question, la Fnac c'est un peu les Magasins Virgin

Janet said...

And this is why I don't go to air shows! Great pictures though.

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

Air shows are skillful entertainment, but dangerous. I went to an air show at a transportation exposition outside Washington, D.C. in the early 1970's. During the air races at the show two planes collided. I can still see the fatal accident in my mind's eye.

Birdman said...

For sure. My life seems like this somedays... upside down, sideways and up.

William Kendall said...

Cool pics!

Jack said...

I am a scaredy cat. No way I would fly upside down.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Fantastic shots Bob but air shows scare me, there quite often seem to be horrible accidents.

Stefan Jansson said...

Would be fun to fly with one of these. Great snaps.