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Why can't all planes fly straight up?
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this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2023
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No Stupid Questions
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I think the question is more about, "Why is it that a jet pushing a wing horizontally such that the wing deflects air downwards is so much more efficient than cutting out the middleman and simply having the jet push downwards.", because it seems at first like the wing is magically creating energy out of nowhere.
The answer might be easier to understand in terms of leverage. A wing acts kindof like a lever, it converts a small amount of force applied at one point & direction (drag), into a larger amount of force in a different point&direction (lift).
The wing, because it is wide, is able to gently redirect a LOT of air downwards at a low speed. In this way, a small amount of fast air (high energy, low momentum) is able to cause a large amount of slow air (slightly lower energy, much higher momentum) to move.
Thank you. This is the answer I was looking for. I understood wings as a means to convert forward airspeed into vertical force, and they are, but I didn't consider that there could be mechanical advantage. (and, of course, I didn't realize that's what I was confused about.)
Other folks had covered the wing aspect, I wanted to discuss the engine portion. Both are cogent.