So the pilot must constantly adjust the controls to keep the airplane balanced, or trimmed. The distribution of the weight and the center of gravity also changes. During a flight, an airplane’s weight constantly changes as the aircraft consumes fuel.

Both of these problems are related to the object’s weight and the location of the center of gravity.

But we can often think of it as collected and acting through a single point called the center of gravity. In flight, the airplane rotates about the center of gravity.įlying encompasses two major problems overcoming the weight of an object by some opposing force, and controlling the object in flight. The weight is distributed throughout the airplane. The magnitude of the weight depends on the mass of all the airplane parts, plus the amount of fuel, plus any payload on board (people, baggage, freight, etc.). Weight is a force that is always directed toward the center of the earth. This slide shows the forces that act on an airplane in flight. When describing forces, we have to specify both the magnitude and the direction. A force is a vector quantity so a force has both a magnitude and a direction. Home > Beginners Guide to Aeronautics Four Forces on an AirplaneĪ force may be thought of as a push or pull in a specific direction.