Model Airplane: Tension/Circular Motion/Lift

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the tension in a control wire for a model airplane with a mass of 0.710 kg flying in a horizontal circle at a speed of 35.0 m/s, with the wire making a 20.0° angle with the horizontal. The radial acceleration is determined to be 20.69 m/s², leading to a radial force of 14.69 N. The participant struggles with incorporating aerodynamic lift into the vertical force calculations, as the lift force (Flift) is unknown. The conversation emphasizes the need for a different approach to apply Newton's second law effectively in this scenario.

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Homework Statement



A model airplane of mass 0.710 kg flies in a horizontal circle at the end of a 63.0 m control wire, with a speed of 35.0 m/s. Compute the tension in the wire if it makes a constant angle of 20.0° with the horizontal. The forces exerted on the airplane are the pull of the control wire, the gravitational force, and aerodynamic lift, which acts at 20.0° inward from the vertical as shown in the figure.

p6-69.gif


Homework Equations



Fnet = ma

a(radial) = v^2/r

The Attempt at a Solution



m = .710kg
v(horizontal) = 35m/s
mg = 6.958N
r = 63cos20 = 59.20m
a(radial) = (35^2)/59.20 = 20.69m/s^2
F(radial) = .710(20.69) = 14.6899 = 14.69N
F(vertical) = mg + Ty - Flift(y-component) = 6.958 + Tsin20 - Flift*sin20
F(horizontal) = F(radial)+ Tx = 14.69 + Tcos20

At this point I don't know how to use the lift to calculate the vertical force, and otherwise cannot find the tension components.

My book does not include any examples of this kind of problem, and the only match I found referred me back here to an unanswered post.
 

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welcome to pf!

hi phy221! welcome to pf! :smile:

(try using the X2 icon just above the Reply box :wink:)

You don't know Flift, so taking horizontal and vertical components of F = ma won't help much

try some other direction for F = ma :smile:
 

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