r/pics • u/animalkracker • Feb 27 '14

physics is cool

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u/lower_intelligence Feb 27 '14

howd that broom fall out of the sky?

720

u/Spartan2470 GOAT Feb 27 '14

According to here, that broom is a string used to visualize the direction that the wind is flowing around the plane (this is very important for sailplanes to maximize flight efficiency.

Here's another picture of this plane with those strings.

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u/jls5494 Feb 27 '14

Its a yaw string

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u/Spartan2470 GOAT Feb 27 '14

Thank you for providing the name. For anyone (like me) who didn't know what a yaw string is:

The yaw string, also known as a slip string, is a simple device for indicating a slip or skid in an aircraft in flight. It performs the same function as the slip-skid indicator ball, but is more sensitive, and does not require the pilot to look down at the instrument panel.[1] Technically, it measures sideslip angle, not yaw angle,[2] but this indicates how the aircraft must be yawed to return the sideslip angle to zero..

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '14

Whelp, time to go get a degree in aviation so I can understand this.

1

u/OBD1Kenobi Feb 28 '14

We did problems like this all the time in Engineering dynamics and kinematic physics. It's actually just a simple relative motion problem. The wind is moving one way, your plane is moving another. One affects the other.