Aerodynamics 101
Today we will learn a bit about aerodynamics. This will be a lesson in physics and will require some background knowledge of math, but I will make it as easy as I can.Let me explain the four forces of flight; Thrust, Lift, Drag, and Weight. Thrust is the forward force produced by the spinning of the propeller. Lift is the upward force on the wing created by the lower pressure on the top of the wing (bernoulli and newton laws). Drag is the bi-product of lift as well as the friction produced by the airplane itself. Weight is the downward force caused by gravity. When the forces lift and weight and the forces thrust and drag are equal it is called equilibrium.
Lift is increased by increasing speed and by increasing the angle of attack (pulling back on the stick). There are basically two forms of drag; parasite drag and induced drag. Parasite drag is the drag caused by friction on the surface of the aircraft and the shape of the aircraft and it's wing mounts, pitot tube, mirror, landing gear, flaps, bombs, or rockets. Induced Drag is the bi-product of lift, which means, the more lift you create on the wing, the more induced drag you are creating. The more thrust there is, the more your speed increases. As speed increases lift increases, therefore the more induced drag is produced. Weight only decreases as you burn fuel, drop ordnance, or drop tanks.
Now when you are vertical, The forces change. Here's a diagram.
The lifting force is now horizontal and the thrust is vertical.
When you are completly vertical, you are actually moving at a very slight, but noticable horizontal angle, due to lift.
When you are inverted, you have lift and weight, pulling you downward, and thrust is the only thing pulling you up.
That is why you need to use forward stick to keep your nose way up when you are inverted.
When you are dropping ordnance from level, the bomb drops moving at the same speed as you, but as it falls more and more is slows down. Thats why the bomb does not hit directly under your aircraft. When you are dive bombing the target, you need to have your nose higher than the target when you drop. The more you comin in at a vertical angle though, the more toward gunsite center you are going to have to aim.
Click here to learn about the forces of flight.