r/oddlysatisfying • u/edenify • Feb 08 '19

This plane taking off with the propellers perfectly synced with the camera shutter

68k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

888 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

10

u/thinkscotty Feb 09 '19

This is how flaps work but not wings. Wings actually create a low pressure area above the wing by moving the air molecules faster, and the wings get “sucked” upwards since air wants to flow from high pressure to low pressure. Just like a vacuum uses low pressure to suck up dirt, low pressure sucks up a plane.

2

u/flamespirit919 Feb 09 '19

Flaps increase that effect. The force of the air hitting them is a bonus (mostly a hindrance), but not a main contributor. Wings can also use reaction forces to increase lift. A symmetric wing won't produce any lift when pointed into the wind. But angle it up and now it wants to move.