What if you had the power to...

[pablocruze]

fly?

We see superheroes flying in the comics all the time...but has the question of the effects of actually flying through the air ever been addressed?

I thought about this while watching Iron Man.

I'm not an engineer, but I would guess that, aerodynamically, the human body isn't the best design for controlled flight.

Perhaps we have to assume that the power of flight also overcomes any and all of the physical laws that govern flight.

Does anyone know if this issue has ever been addressed in any of the comics?

And what keeps them from getting bugs in their teeth?

[Tetragrammaton]

Check these out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIkIPzP0jo4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi-AyTeCBpk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmZyB_ghpa0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-66AcTo9TU

May not be human flight, but it comes close.

As for Iron Man, he's got one big problem as to how he was shown to fly in the movie. His boot jets and flight stablizers (repulsors) may provide all the thrust he needs, he still doesn't have any visible source of lift. He might be able to fly in a large ballisitc arc, like a rocket, but forget about flying horizontally. Unless off course he can render himself immune to gravity and as the comics have long established, Stark does have anti-gravity devices.

[CessnaDriver]

enough thrust you can make anything fly.

You do not need an airfoil shape or aerodynamic design.

Enough thrust will overcome the drag, if the object is pushing air down as it moves forward it will stay up. So the human body would work.

There is video of a skydiver that basically had rocket boots, he was able to hold altitude for a while.

[CessnaDriver]

Heres the vid, his suit is designed to help generate lift, but again, enough thrust and it would not matter...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-926587825785526870

[pablocruze]

Check these out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIkIPzP0jo4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi-AyTeCBpk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmZyB_ghpa0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-66AcTo9TU

May not be human flight, but it comes close.

As for Iron Man, he's got one big problem as to how he was shown to fly in the movie. His boot jets and flight stablizers (repulsors) may provide all the thrust he needs, he still doesn't have any visible source of lift. He might be able to fly in a large ballisitc arc, like a rocket, but forget about flying horizontally. Unless off course he can render himself immune to gravity and as the comics have long established, Stark does have anti-gravity devices.

Heres the vid, his suit is designed to help generate lift, but again, enough thrust and it would not matter...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-926587825785526870


Those are cool...

it looked like most of them were gliding with the guy from Finland adding a jet thrust to his glide, but the Jet-Man looked like he could control his altitude...

[Tetragrammaton]

enough thrust you can make anything fly.

You do not need an airfoil shape or aerodynamic design.



Really?

I'm no expert, but unless at least part of that thrust isn't directed downwards against the pull of gravity, what would keep him in the air?

[CessnaDriver]

Really?

I'm no expert, but unless at least part of that thrust isn't directed downwards against the pull of gravity, what would keep him in the air?

Newtons 3rd law.

Next time you go driving, put your hand out the window, if you can deflect air down, your hand will be pushed up, even though the thrust vector is directed straight down the road.

any shape that can deflect air down, will go up, assuming enough thrust.

I dont think a sphere would work.

Now, controllability is another issue.

The special shapes of aicraft wings.. an airfoil.. uses Bernoulli's principle to generate lift, but a wing also deflects air down too by changing the angle of attack to the relative wind just like your hand out the car window.

[AsOneDead]

Newtons 3rd law.

Next time you go driving, put your hand out the window, if you can deflect air down, your hand will be pushed up, even though the thrust vector is directed straight down the road.

any shape that can deflect air down, will go up, assuming enough thrust.

I dont think a sphere would work.

Now, controllability is another issue.

The special shapes of aicraft wings.. an airfoil.. uses Bernoulli's principle to generate lift, but a wing also deflects air down too by changing the angle of attack to the relative wind just like your hand out the car window.

Nerd alert :confused2 lol

[CessnaDriver]

Nerd alert :confused2 lol

On Statue Forum?!

You need a "not a nerd" alert. :laugh:

[AsOneDead]

On Statue Forum?!

You need a "not a nerd" alert. :laugh:

lol, good point.