How an airplane really climbs

What makes an airplane climb? Lift? Good guess, but wrong. In this video I explains why lift isn't what supports steady climbs, and provide the real answer. Along the way, we'll address an old-wives'-tale about needing less lift in the descent than in level flight.
Special thanks to Doug Rozendaal, and to all my supporters on Patreon.
"Why Can't You Use Phones on Planes?" kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIqkomBtqLStjrM
==========================================
Support Martin's work on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/martinpauly​
==========================================
Martin on Social Media:
KZbin: kzbin.info​
Web: www.martin.aero​
Instagram: n70tb​
Twitter: _Martin_Pauly​
FaceBook: N70TB​
==========================================
Martin's Bonanza on FlightAware:
flightaware.com/live/flight/N70TB
==========================================

[@JustPlaneSilly]

You make complicated things so clear. Nicely done.

[@martinpauly]

Happy to hear that, Bryan. - Martin

[@ronjohnson9507]

Bryan on the other hand does not😂😂

[@alschwartz8732]

Every time you explain something it makes perfect sense. it also reminds me of how big a chimp I am..

[@charlestex8222]

Great job. Nice to see more and more knowledgeable aviators trying to debunk aviation myths. We usually need kind of complex explanations to understand complex stuff. Oversimplifying aerodynamics has always been an issue. Thank you, Martin.

[@martinpauly]

My pleasure, Charles! - Martin

[@JonMulveyGuitar]

Well done Martin! Very informative and entertaining! This took a bit of work, and you did a great job here!👍✈️

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, Jon - I appreciate the kind words. - Martin

[@buckshot704]

Closing-in on 30k subscribers. Well-done! ✈️😎👍

[@Rodhern]

Expect higher; level off not mandatory 🙂

[@martinpauly]

Yes - sometime this month it'll happen, I guess? Thanks! 😁 - Martin

[@StephensonRaceTech]

Very good job Martin! Been 20 years since I was in school for aero engineering. Great throw back!!!

[@martinpauly]

Glad you enjoyed going back in time on this subject! - Martin

[@WolfPilot]

Excellent video Martin!!! You did a fantastic job of illustrating the forces in play.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Jay. - Martin

[@marcobitran2244]

Wonderfully clear explanations. Thank you

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, Marco - glad you found it helpful. - Martin

[@jakew9887]

Great presentation. Thanks.

[@martinpauly]

Glad you enjoyed it, Jake! - Martin

[@jimhuntington8692]

I should not be surprised that you would take what first appears to be an elementary explanation episode and turn it into an extremely interesting and informative session. Thanks for taking the time to help us all better understand fact vs fiction.

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, Jim - glad you enjoyed this one! - Martin

[@andypetzold]

Thanks Martin!

[@martinpauly]

My pleasure, Andy. - Martin

[@tedtriche407]

Great presentation.

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, Ted. - Martin

[@beno177]

Well DONE and liked the visuals….tks.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Ben. - Martin

[@ranjrog]

Excellent explanation! Thank you!!

[@martinpauly]

Glad you found it helpful! - Martin

[@kylekendall1587]

Great job Martin! Thanks

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Kyle. - Martin

[@toddpeterson7316]

Martin, thank you ! A wonderfully elegant explanation!!!

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, Todd. - Martin

[@andrewbainton4029]

Excellent ...nice job Martin...hoping to see you at Sun n' Fun this year

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Andrew. I'll be there - see you in Lakeland! - Martin

[@andrewbainton4029]

@@martinpauly Sweet! I will surely say hello!

[@HabuBeemer]

Excellent presentation Martin. Thank you for posting. I hope to see you at Sun n Fun in a few weeks. Safe flight if you are attending. Booth C 2

[@martinpauly]

I'll be there. What is your company? (And your name, so I know who to look for?) Regards, Martin

[@HabuBeemer]

@@martinpauly Hi Martin. The company is Ice Shield Deicing Systems. I’m Steve. We manufacture replacement pneumatic deice boots / prop boots for all the certified aircraft that use them. Piper, Beech, Cessna, Pilatus, MU-2, etc.

[@captaindronieversefpv]

Thanks for Share it

[@DJ99777]

Exactly what I needed.

[@PromoJetAus]

Hi Martin. You hit the nail on the head but the final piece of The puzzle needed stating. The aircraft climbs because of the excess THRUST vector. The amount of thrust and and ability to do work derived by the engine power able to be delivered.

[@martinpauly]

You are correct. Though I find it easier to think in terms of horsepower than thrust when dealing with piston airplanes, while in a jet you would certainly use thrust. Excess power, or excess thrust - either one allows climb. Regards, Martin

[@PromoJetAus]

@@martinpauly Understood - everything you have said is well stated and logical - though both forms of propulsion deliver Thrust at the end of the day and in terms of the balance of forces (or imbalance) that is why we climb. Keep up the good work

[@erinchillmusic8930]

That’s what I said about coof-v1rus 2 years ago. 99.96% of people survive and the scare was insignificant to most people’s lives. They didn’t believe me, Martin.

[@JustSayN2O]

I don't understand how cross controlled flight; for example a "forward" slip to reduce altitude on final approach without increasing airspeed, affects stall speed. For your future presentation consideration, thank you.

[@paratyshow]

👍☑️ Tks for the lesson.

[@martinpauly]

My pleasure! - Martin

[@eugeneweaver3199]

Thank you for an articulate explanation! I've tried, but always manage to confuse the poor person more than they already are! 🤣

[@martinpauly]

Glad it was helpful, Eugene! - Martin

[@rodmanser7573]

1/2 rho V squared area CL. NASA has a good website for lots of fundamentals as a primer to Aero 101

[@jjohnston94]

Commenting before watching. As an engineer who has a bit of physics also, I know intuitively that an airplane going at a constant speed in a straight line, even if that line is tilted upwards, is in equilibrium, which means lift equals weight. So....how indeed? Looking forward to the video.

[@martinpauly]

So... what did you learn / confirm when you watched it?

[@jjohnston94]

@@martinpauly I had never heard the old wives' tale about stall speed being reduced when descending, but that may be an inspiration for another video: addressing other old wives' tales, like "you'll stall if you turn downwind". That one, too has a little kernel of validity in it, but it's about the wind affecting your ground track.

[@mianatwood]

Hello Martin, This is Mian. A CFI student atm and a student Instructor of the PPL class at UC Berkeley. I love this video but I still have some confusion about this. I have been researching this for almost a year with no conclusive answer. Different CFIs have given me different answers and the FAA seems to contradict it self in the Airplane Flying Hand book and PHAK. In the Airplane Flying Handbook the FAA states the airplane climbs because of lift while in the PHAK it states that the plane climbs because of excess thrust. I have tried to contact some aerospace engineer friends as well about this. Is it possible if we can set up a zoom call and go over my findings and see where I am making the mistake or if the FAA is actually contradicting itself?

[@streakurt]

if you got good answer please share with me too :D I have same pain about this topic

[@swhsch]

Thanks from : Herman the german !

[@f14flyer11]

power + attitude = performance transfers into climb

[@martinpauly]

Usually that's true. But when you get to the edge of the performance envelope, things can be different. Not just in light-GA aircraft - as the pilots of Air France 447 learned, to give just one example. This is why it is so valuable to experience (and master) slow flight. Things we take for granted, things we have learned wrongly or incompletely at "normal" speeds no longer work at very slow speeds. Regards, Martin

[@endicot0195]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but another old wise tale is that the curvature of the wing creates lift.

[@martinpauly]

"How list is created" is a video I don't believe I will make. "What to do with all the lift", that is where I see my expertise. 😁 - Martin

[@streakurt]

I want to add something for question, Lift and flying are "not all the time" same things. While lift is occurs under your wings (unless climbing 90 degree) as long as you have enough kinetic energy. But for flying you only need kinetic energy. So you have a ball and kick it, it flies a short moment but there is no lift (force) because balls have no wings :)

[@georgestuart2483]

Which is why we all want….MORE POWER!!!

[@martinpauly]

Exactly! 👍 Too much power is almost enough! 😁

[@alexandermyrthue1987]

When you hear the stall horn you can push the Yoke forward unloading the wings and for a moment fly below the speed where the airplane normally wouldn't so in that moment the aircraft don't need lift. Correct??

[@martinpauly]

What you are describing is the result of a load factor which is less than 1.0 while you are pushing the nose down. During that time, less lift is needed (compared with level flight) and therefore your stall speed is reduced. But the moment your trajectory stabilizes and you reach steady motion again, all that is over and your normal stall speed (for a load factor of 1.0) applies again. Regards, Martin

[@alexandermyrthue1987]

@@martinpauly Thanks 😊

[@stealhty1]

I tell Ppl its Magic ,, to climb faster to need more Magic

[@johnopheim7891]

One error he made: altitude decreases drag due to thinner air. This is why commercial airlines fly at altitudes of around 30,000 feet.

[@martinpauly]

Yes... and where exactly is the error I made in the video? Timestamp or quote of something I said would be appreciated. Thanks. - Martin

[@reidbaldwin4555]

Your statement is true. But the fact that Martin did not state that fact does not imply that he made an error.

[@johnopheim7891]

@@martinpauly 2 minutes in

[@johnopheim7891]

Drag reduces with altitude gain. The plane does not necessarily need to level out to increase speed: it is already increasing, albeit at a slow pace.

[@johnopheim7891]

@@martinpauly very good video.

[@tstanley01]

What makes an airplane climb? Introducing excess energy while not increasing forward speed.

[@ronjohnson9507]

What makes an airplane fly? $$$$$

[@martinpauly]

Yup, that, too! 😂 - Martin