Vehicles brake on the ground, planes also brake in the air, here's how they do it

Vehicles are on the ground so we can brake it by borrowing the force of friction. However, to slow down an aircraft in the air is a completely different story that you may not know. The following will be an article to learn the basics of air brakes on an airplane. Hope you will like it.

Air brake helps plane to slow down in the air

If the propeller plane wants to slow down, just let the engine idle, then the propeller will block the wind and slow it down. If not slow enough, the pilot can combine it with a flap release (a device under the main wing edge that helps direct the air flow down to increase lift). However, when the jet was born, the deceleration slowed down. poses a new problem.

Air brake on back F15

Jets don't have propellers to stop the air, so they need air brakes to control speed. In addition, jets are often heavy and have great inertia, so the flaps alone are not enough to brake them effectively. That's why most jet models and some propeller planes (mainly large, heavy models) are equipped with air brakes.

Air brake on the back of Su-27

Air brakes are basically windbreaks, when not in use, they will stick to the aircraft. When activated, these windscreens will be released and create traction to help the aircraft decelerate. Air brakes are effective both in the air and on the ground, the higher the speed, the stronger the traction of the air brake.

Air brakes come in different shapes and different mounting positions on aircraft such as back, belly, tail and wings. Depending on the design purpose, the air brake will be located in different positions, the air resistance is also different.

Rear air brake F86

Air brake on SBD

Bae 146 tail end air brake

MiG-21 . Belly Air Brake

Meaning of air brake

As with any type of aircraft, the air brake helps to control the speed better, especially useful when the aircraft has approached the airport but the speed is still large, the pilot can pull the air brake to help the aircraft slow down. speed and land at the ideal speed. Once the plane has landed on the ground, the air brake will also help reduce the plane's roll, helping it to stop on a shorter runway.

Particularly for fighter aircraft, the air brake's ability to slow down in the air will help it glide more sharply and not be 'excessive' ahead of the gun of the enemy aircraft. That's why this ability is extremely necessary in round-robin air combat, especially with jet fighters, which do not have propellers to slow down naturally.

F16 . tail air brake

Large commercial and transport aircraft models have the dorsal flap located on the upper surface of the main wing. This part both acts as an air brake and helps to brake the landing gear when the aircraft is on the ground. It even helps the plane tilt back and forth more easily.

Back flaps (metal plates that open upwards) on large commercial aircraft

Above is the basic information about the air brake, the device that can help the aircraft brake in mid-air. Hope this information is interesting to you.