Glider 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Glider 1 - Assignment Example This paper declares that a glider usually has got 3 forces acting on it while in flight in comparison with 4 forces that normally act on an aircraft that is powered. Both kinds of aircrafts are all subjected to drag, weight, and lift forces. For the powered craft, there is the engine thrust that opposes the drag; however, there is no thrust for glider. A glider must generate lift so as to oppose its own weight for it to fly. For lift to be generated, a glider ought to move via the air. A glider’s motion via the air produces drag. In the case of an aircraft that is powered, the drag is opposed by the engine’s thrust; however, the glider lacks an engine to produce thrust. With nothing to oppose the drag, a glider will rapidly slow down till it can no longer produce adequate lift to resist its weight, and falls down to the ground finally. This report makes a conclusion that it does not matter the length of the moment arm is to be employed. This is because both short as well as long moment arms are endowed with their advantages as well as disadvantages respectively. For instance, a disturbing force normally has a superior impact on an arm that is short as compared to one that is long. A long moment is slow to respond to stabilizing forces and thus loses its earlier advantage to a short one. However, on throwing, a glider with short moment arm recovers more rapidly due to stabilizing properties, whereas a longer moment ship usually attains more height before it finally recovers fully, going into a straight glide.