kallend 2,146 #26 June 8, 2009 QuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteif the plane is going 90 horizontal and terminal, for example, is 120 vertical how long does it take to reach terminal? The plane's horizontal speed is irrelevant. Acceleration downward is the same if you jump out of a jet airplane or a hot air balloon. That is not true, since drag is a non-linear function of velocity. Hence there IS a coupling between horizontal component of velocity and vertical component of acceleration (albeit not a very large effect). Please explain. In layman's terms. If the horizontal component of velocity is Vx, and the vertical is Vy, then the speed through the air is V = sqrt(Vx^2 + Vy^2) (Pythagoras). So drag force D, being proportional to |V|^2, is proportional to(Vx^2 + Vy^2). Resolve this drag force D into horizontal and vertical components Dx and Dy and you find that Vx enters into the value of Dy, and Vy enters into the value of Dx. In other words, the vertical component of drag DOES depend on the horizontal component of velocity. Freshman physics.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #27 June 8, 2009 Ah yes, well that explains it perfectly. Thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,146 #28 June 9, 2009 Quote Ah yes, well that explains it perfectly. Thank you. Always a pleasure to be of assistance... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
