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The Velveteen Ocelot

(130,746 posts)

19. The stall would occur on the wings.

Fri Mar 14, 2014, 10:45 PM

Mar 2014

As the air becomes thinner At higher altitudes the airplane needs to fly at a higher angle of attack in order to generate enough lift to keep flying. Lift occurs because the shape of the wing (more curved on the top than on the bottom) causes air to move more quickly over the top of the wing than the bottom, which causes a pressure differential that effectively "pulls" up. What happens when a wing stalls is that when the angle of attack (pitch-up) becomes too excessive the airflow over the wing is disrupted and no lift can be generated.

The effect on the engines is different. An engine needs air to combine with fuel in order to burn the fuel, and if there isn't enough air (air pressure, more accurately), the engine won't produce enough power. But that's not a stall. There is such a thing as compressor stall, which occurs in the compressor (intake) stage of a jet engine but that is usually the result of a sudden abnormal change in engine parameters. Engines don't actually "stall" otherwise.

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What would happen to a 777 if the pilot flew it up and up and up? [View all] Avalux Mar 2014 OP

Its max ceiling is 43000 feet. n-t Logical Mar 2014 #1

Max ceiling.... Avalux Mar 2014 #6

And wings would not provide enough lift to go higher based on the size of the plane. nt Logical Mar 2014 #12

Ok, that makes sense.... Avalux Mar 2014 #13

Drunk. n-t Logical Mar 2014 #14

Certainly plausible...and really, really horrible to think about. n/t Avalux Mar 2014 #16

The stall would occur on the wings. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #19

I didn't know that. I kept thinking engine stall. Avalux Mar 2014 #28

Yes. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #31

I thought so. Avalux Mar 2014 #32

Too expensive The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #33

Yes that's true! Avalux Mar 2014 #34

It would stall and fall out of the sky Renew Deal Mar 2014 #2

Ok....so if it couldn't recover, would plummet and hit the ground. Avalux Mar 2014 #4

In my uneducated opinion, yes. Renew Deal Mar 2014 #10

My uneducated opinion tells me it depends on what angle they would have hit the water... Agschmid Mar 2014 #18

So if the pilot went up, then did a nosedive down into the water.... Avalux Mar 2014 #21

You would think... Agschmid Mar 2014 #26

The plane would disintegrate on impact. Similar to the aircraft in the 9/11 attacks. Gravitycollapse Mar 2014 #30

There is always debris Reter Mar 2014 #41

Let me clarify. I know what goes up must come down... Avalux Mar 2014 #42

The debris could be under water, the thing could have sunk. Or under vegetation in the uppityperson Mar 2014 #46

The density of the air would decrease until the wings lose too much lift or the engine stalls. Gravitycollapse Mar 2014 #3

But how high up could it go? Avalux Mar 2014 #5

It would be substantially higher than the service ceiling. By how much I'm not sure. Gravitycollapse Mar 2014 #17

It's wiki but it seems scientifically accurate... Agschmid Mar 2014 #20

Thank you. Avalux Mar 2014 #27

I don't... Agschmid Mar 2014 #29

Full throttle, probably about 70,000 feet. Loudly Mar 2014 #25

And then if the plane fell.... Avalux Mar 2014 #38

They found plenty of recognizable debris from Columbia. Loudly Mar 2014 #43

The air becomes so thin that no lift can be created. Loudly Mar 2014 #7

E.g. the last scene of the movie "The Right Stuff" Tommy_Carcetti Mar 2014 #9

It would stall and descend quickly. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #8

Thank you. Avalux Mar 2014 #11

It depends on the aircraft type, weight, and the engines. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #24

Malaysia joins the space race. penultimate Mar 2014 #15

It would bump into the space station. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2014 #22

And you gave me a laugh! Avalux Mar 2014 #23

Here's some info 2naSalit Mar 2014 #35

Heard expert say that the air is so thin there that the plane cannot get lift applegrove Mar 2014 #36

So there may not be debris. n/t Avalux Mar 2014 #39

No if the debris is from high up there would be a wide debris field I think. applegrove Mar 2014 #40

Water droplets??? The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #44

molecules....sorry. I'm not good at verbatim recall. applegrove Mar 2014 #45

Outer space! Calista241 Mar 2014 #37

stall out? n/t 2pooped2pop Mar 2014 #47

Some type of stall, depending on the exact speed and power at the time ladjf Mar 2014 #48