Physics in Everyday Use: Nympsfield Gliding Club

Physics in Everyday Use: Nympsfield Gliding Club

Materials And Basic Gliding Principles.

The use of physics at Nympsfield club was varied and essential. Many

different aspects of the club used physics principles including the

winch (for take-off), the launch cable, the tow plane, the glider

itself and many more.

The glider is an aircraft in the simplest sense of the word. Equipped

with only a large pair of wings, a light fuselage and a pilot and no

engine a Glider can only glide. This means that a Glider must come

down sooner or later. To discover how the Glider stays up in the air

we must look at the most basic laws of physics and at the Glider

itself in detail.

The materials used to construct the Glider are of the utmost

importantance as these can affect the entire flight of the Glider. In

essence the Glider must be kept as light as possible whilst still

having a strong fuselage and a mostly rigid structure.

Basic Physics.

BernoulliÂ’s Principle.

The pressure of a fluid always decreases as its rate of flow is

increased.

(A way to test this is to hold a sheet of paper that is drooping and

then blow along the paper, if done correctly the paper should rise)

BernoulliÂ’s Equation.

The Bernoulli equation states that,

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but only when

· point 1 and 2 lie on a streamline,

· the fluid has a constant density,

· the flow is steady

· there is no friction.

Although these restrictions sound severe, the Bernoulli equation is

very useful, partly because it is very simple to use and partly

because it can give great insight into the balance between pressure,

velocity and elevation.

Bernoulli's equation is the explanation for how an airplane is able to

fly. It is an example of the first Law of Thermodynamics. In other

words it states that Energy can not be created or destroyed.