Final Project

THE POWER OF FLIGHT

Before making comparison between the Bald Eagle and an Airplane, I would like to talk about each one of them. First the Bald Eagle is a powerful flier, and soars on thermal convection currents. It reaches speed of 35-45 miles per hour when gliding and flapping, and about 30 miles per hour while carrying fish. Its dive speed is about 75-99 miles per hour, though it seldom dives vertically. It is partially migratory, depending on location. The Bald Eagle selects migratory routes which take advantage of thermals, updrafts, and food resources. During migration, it may ascend in updrafts created by wind against a cliff or other terrains. Migration generally takes place during the daytime, when thermals are produced by the sun.

The Bald Eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. On June 20, 1782, the continental congress adopted the still current design for the Great Seal of the United States including the Bald Eagle grasping 13 arrows and a 13-leaf olive branch with its talons. The Bald Eagle appears on most official seals of the U.S government, including the seal of the President of the United States and the Presidential Flag, and in many U.S federal agency logos.

Airplane is typically a powered fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine or propeller. Another name of aero plane is an aircraft, a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. Planes come in a variety of sizes, shapes and wings configurations. The broad spectrum of use of planes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research. The wings of the airplane cause it to lift and stay in the air. Bernoulli’s theory applied to flight: the curved upper surface of the wing forces the air to increase its speed as it flows over the top in order to reach the trailing edge of the wing at the same time as the air flowing in the path below the wing with the increase in speed on top, the pressure decreases. This change makes the pressure pushing up from under the greater than the pressure down on the top of the wing, so the wing moves up naturally.

It is critical that air flows evenly around and over the wings during flight so that friction and drag are kept at a minimum. The surface of the wing is kept smooth by the overlapping placement of the flight features. Bernoulli’s principle also applies to the Bald Eagle‘s wing: the distinct shape of a wing is known as an airfoil. Lift is produced by the motion of an airfoil, or wing, moving through the air. The special shape of the airfoil, or wing, is what produces a change in air pressure above the wing by deflecting or turning the air. As the wing moves through the air, air goes above and below. The upper surface has a longer surface distance. In order for the two air stream to meet at the trailing edge of the wing at the same time, the top air must go faster. Increased speed equals decreased pressure, equals lift; hence the power of flight in both the air plane and the Bald Eagle.