zlacker

>>qqqqqu+(OP)
Flight. How can a plane fly when it's thrust to weight ratio is less than one? It's like, if you can produce 10 pounds of thrust, who would look at that and say "ah ha, we can use this to keep a 100 pound machine miles in the air indefinitely"?

I understand flight from a mathematical point of view. I've actually read a few books on the subject, and I could explain how flight works to someone. However, I'm still fishing for an explanation that "feels" more satisfying though. Per the question, I still want it explained better.

EDIT: There's already a thread about flight. I asked the same question there, but phrased a bit differently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993460

>>Button+p41
Many descriptions of flight focus on pressure differentials. I think it's much easier to think about in terms of Newton's 3rd law. The plane simply needs to redirect enough air downward to compensate for its weight. The energy cost change the direction of the air (via the wing) is very low (similar to how a train does not lose much speed when the tracks curve).