plane in flight.

Straight and level flight of aircraft[edit]

Further information: Steady flight § Steady Flight Maneuvers
In flight a powered aircraft can be considered as being acted on by four forces: lift, weight, thrust,
and drag.[1] Thrust is the force generated by the engine (whether that engine be a jet engine,
a propeller, or -- in exotic cases such as the X-15 -- a rocket) and acts in a forward direction for
the purpose of overcoming drag.[2] Lift acts perpendicular to the vector representing the aircraft's
velocity relative to the atmosphere. Drag acts parallel to the aircraft's velocity vector, but in the
opposite direction because drag resists motion through the air. Weight acts through the aircraft's
centre of gravity, towards the centre of the Earth.
In straight and level flight, lift is approximately equal to the weight, and acts in the opposite
direction. In addition, if the aircraft is not accelerating, thrust is equal and opposite to drag. [3]
In straight climbing flight, lift is less than weight.[4] At first, this seems incorrect because if an
aircraft is climbing it seems lift must exceed weight. When an aircraft is climbing at constant
speed it is its thrust that enables it to climb and gain extra potential energy. Lift acts perpendicular
to the vector representing the velocity of the aircraft relative to the atmosphere, so lift is unable to
alter the aircraft's potential energy or kinetic energy. This can be seen by considering an
aerobatic aircraft in straight vertical flight (one that is climbing straight upwards or descending
straight downwards). Vertical flight requires no lift. When flying straight upwards the aircraft can
reach zero airspeed before falling earthwards; the wing is generating no lift and so does not stall.
In straight, climbing flight at constant airspeed, thrust exceeds drag.
In straight descending flight, lift is less than weight. [5] In addition, if the aircraft is not accelerating,
thrust is less than drag. In turning flight, lift exceeds weight and produces a load factor greater
than one, determined by the aircraft's angle of bank.[6]

Aircraft control and movement[edit]

Mnemonics to remember angle names

Main article: Flight dynamics (fixed-wing aircraft)

There are three primary ways for an aircraft to change its orientation relative to the passing
air. Pitch (movement of the nose up or down, rotation around the transversal axis), roll (rotation
around the longitudinal axis, that is, the axis which runs along the length of the aircraft)
and yaw (movement of the nose to left or right, rotation about the vertical axis). Turning the
aircraft (change of heading) requires the aircraft firstly to roll to achieve an angle of bank (in order
to produce a centripetal force); when the desired change of heading has been accomplished the
aircraft must again be rolled in the opposite direction to reduce the angle of bank to zero. Lift acts
vertically up through centre of pressure which depends on the position of wings. The position of
the centre of pressure will change with changes in the angle of attack and aircraft wing flaps
setting.