Airplane, Car, Relative Motion If you are riding in a car and a
radio controlled toy airplane is flying outside, parallel to the
car and you fly it into an open window, would it just hover next
to you? Under normal conditions, the airplane would not continue
to fly but would settle in the seat next to you. The airplane
requires a relative wind moving over the wing to create lift.
While flying next to you, it has the same relative wind as your
car. When it moves into the car, it would now experience a
relative wind based on the air held in the car. It would not be
sufficient to maintain flight. If the car were large enough
(really big) the plane could accelerate in the inside air
(moving as fast as the car and airplane) and develop a flying
speed. It would then need to remain this speed within the car to
continue flying. The key to creating lift with an aircraft wing
is relative wind. If you find this interesting, you might want
to explore wind shear and the effect on aircraft....
particularly landing and depa