Quote:
Originally Posted by B767Driver  Centripetal force is really the force present in allowing the airplane to fly along a curved path, i.e, make a turn.
Centrifugal force exists...and is counter to centripetal...but doesn't act on the airplane...otherwise they would cancel each other out and negate the turn.
It's my understanding that the force you feel as you turn in a car is not centrifugal force...but the centripetal force pushing you to the inside of the turn. Otherwise...you would remain on a line tangent to the turn and continue in a straight line.
Seagull...??? Is this accurate? |
You have the right of it. Centrifugal force, along with coriolis force, are apparent body forces that arise when one is travelling along inside an accelerated reference frame (such as a reference frame attached to a turning aircraft). These apparent forces disappear in an inertial frame (a frame that is not accelerating, such as a stationary observer on the ground).
True forces are present in all reference frames. So in the inertial ground frame, there is a centripetal force and the plane moves in a circle. Within the accelerated reference frame of the plane, the centripetal force acting on the pilot exactly counteracts apparent centrifugal force, because the pilot is not accelerating relative to the plane (assuming you're just sitting in your seat).
It only makes sense to talk about these apparent pseudoforces when you are referring to the accelerated frame. So, the apparent centrifugal force DOES act on the aircraft and DOES negate the turn, but only WITHIN the accelerated reference frame - the plane does not turn relative to itself. If the plane turns 15 degrees to the left, so does the plane's reference frame, and within that frame, nothing has changed.