If a plane flew horizontal

As well as a 101 other problems, don't think anyone has said planes require air for lift as it flows over wings.

And also air for the engines.

The higher you get the more airpseed is required for the same amount of lift due to the thinner air. But there is also less air going into the engines hence making them less powerful. It is a combination of these factors that give an aircraft it's maximum operating level.
 
"If a plane flew horizontal [sic]", it would never leave the earth's atmosphere, no. What Neo said.

Also, hey Neo :)
 
Wouldn't they eventually go into orbit and space? Weird huh.

Horizontal in reference to what?

To be flying horizontal you would need a frame of reference (the ground, or mavity well) to call it horizontal. In this case you would just fly around the world. At some point you would have to travel vertical to the frame of reference to reach escape velocity from that reference (mavity)
 
I flunked physics in 1974 so I'm going to use my brain cells trying to understand what the OP is getting at.

If he gets in a plane and starts to fly horizontal but decides to focus on a distant star and turn all his dials off, then he is in fact flying 'true' horizontal from where he started and he should leave the Earth without ever realising he was flying up.

All you physics gay boys are taking the Earths curvature into account where he just wants to fly horizontal from where he started.

planehorizontal.jpg


Nobel prize on it's way.
 
I flunked physics in 1974 so I'm going to use my brain cells trying to understand what the OP is getting at.

If he gets in a plane and starts to fly horizontal but decides to focus on a distant star and turn all his dials off, then he is in fact flying 'true' horizontal from where he started and he should leave the Earth without ever realising he was flying up.

All you physics gay boys are taking the Earths curvature into account where he just wants to fly horizontal from where he started.

planehorizontal.jpg


Nobel prize on it's way.



The earth's curvature is irrelevent, the frame of reference for the horizontal is actually the pull of mavity, hence no matter where you are in relation to the earth mavity always denotes the horizontal or vertical. (unless you are outside of the influence of mavity.)
 
I flunked physics in 1974

I'm amazed.

Basically what the OP means by "horizontal" is not actually horizontal in the example he proposes, it's only horizontal to the earth at it's starting position, think about it like a plane taking off from a runway, that is essentially the same thing on a smaller scale.
 
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^ Well, in his defence at least he could say he faced real exams.

Nothing like the **** easy nonsense we have now.

What? I'm always confused by this statement, secondary school exams are easier yes, up to GCSE, however they should be, they are non specialised and are studied to give rough understanding, I think you'll find any exam taken after GCSE is not "**** easy nonsense".
 
What? I'm always confused by this statement, secondary school exams are easier yes, up to GCSE, however they should be, they are non specialised and are studied to give rough understanding, I think you'll find any exam taken after GCSE is not "**** easy nonsense".

It is arguable that A levels are also easier, and given that I was the last year to take O levels, and then found that a lot of the 'new' A level syllabus was in fact the 'old' O level syllabus I can see their point.
 
It is arguable that A levels are also easier, and given that I was the last year to take O levels, and then found that a lot of the 'new' A level syllabus was in fact the 'old' O level syllabus I can see their point.

How do you define "easier" exactly? Should A Level students be studying more advanced physics? It's not like what you learned is redundant or anything, why should the syllabus change unless the physics itself has changed.
 
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The earth's curvature is irrelevent, the frame of reference for the horizontal is actually the pull of mavity, hence no matter where you are in relation to the earth mavity always denotes the horizontal or vertical. (unless you are outside of the influence of mavity.)

Yeah, but now you're putting mavity in the equation :)
All he wants to do is fly a true horizontal (straight line) from where he started so picking a distant star should do it.
 
How do you define "easier" exactly? Should A Level students be studying more advanced physics? It's not like what you learned is redundant or anything, why should the syllabus change unless the physics itself has changed.

Not what I said and you know it. O levels included certain stuff in their syllabi, A levels then expanded on that with a more advanced syllabi. When the O levels changed to GCSE's the syllabi changed and thus so did the A level's syllabi, The A level syllabi included things you would have previously learned on the O level syllabi, and thus the examination got 'easier'
 
No it wouldn't go into orbit. The lift from the wings always has to balance mavity, which is always changing its vector (i.e is always coming from the centre of the earth)

If it was actually flying horizontal then as the mavity vector went more and more aft the plane would either have to have more thrust or the wings have to move to match the vector to keep it airbourne. Since the engines don't have enough thrust to hold the weight of the aircraft the angle of the wings need to move.

Orbital physics aren't the same as aerodynamics lol The escape velocity for earth is around 17,500mph if I remember correctly.
 
Yeah, but now you're putting mavity in the equation :)
All he wants to do is fly a true horizontal (straight line) from where he started so picking a distant star should do it.

I know, but mavity is the actually original frame of reference for horizontal. If you subsequently ignore that reference for horizontal then the experiment is invalid surely, because the true horizontal is dependent upon gravitational pull and as soon as you break that he would then be travelling vertically at an increasing gradient when compared to the original reference for the horizontal.
 
Not what I said and you know it.

Actually I didn't, I apologise if I came off that way, I was under the impression O Levels were the A Level equivalent.

To be honest I just find the "EXAMS ARE EASIER BLA" brigade rather annoying, regardless of what you consider "easier" I would wager an A Level physics student knows more about physics than someone who took the course 20 years ago. Also even if the exams are easier it is nowhere near the degree some people seem to believe.
 
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Actually I didn't, I apologise if I came off that way, I was under the impression O Levels were the A Level equivalent.

Sorry I thought you were. No worries.

No we used to take O levels between 14-16 and then A levels from 16-18, just like the GCSE to A level system now. So you can see the way in which they moved the goalposts somewhat and have been doing so ever since.
 
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