• Wind is a stream of air that moves quickly parallel to the earth's surface. On Earth, wind is a flow of air moving predominantly in a horizontal direction; on other planets, it is a flow of atmospheric gases characteristic of them.
• What kind of air can fly
• Restless air
• What element can turn a calm into a storm?
• moving air
• What element shapes the bizarre landscapes of the Sahara Desert
• Movement of air over the earth's surface
• Airflow
• Movement, air flow
• Air movement in horizontal direction
• Diamond (from ancient Greek ἀδάμας “indestructible”, through Arabic ألماس‎ [’almās] and Turkish elmas) is a mineral, a cubic allotropic form of carbon.
• What kind of stone can be found in a kimberlite pipe?
• Which gemstone can only be destroyed by high temperature?
• Antarctica (Greek ἀνταρκτική - the opposite of the Arctic) is a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the southern geographic pole.
• What part of the world is not on the oldest globe?
• Which continent is the highest?
• Where on Earth is the cleanest air?
• Which continent can be proud of the highest altitude above sea level?
• What continent was James Cook's second expedition dedicated to searching for?
• The UN flag depicts the globe of the Earth, which should emphasize the equality of all countries, and from which continent does the view of the globe open?
• Which continent has the largest number of fallen meteorites?
• Where on earth are the largest reserves of fresh water concentrated?
• Where on Earth

Civil aviation once began with balloons: airplanes and helicopters were like walking to the Moon, and people began flying in balloons back in the 18th century. Today we will tell you how it happens in the 21st: I went to Cappadocia - a region in central Turkey - where mass flights take place almost every day; There are several dozen balloons in the air at the same time, and, accordingly, several hundred passengers.

A little physics. How a hot air balloon flies

A modern passenger balloon is correctly called a hot air balloon, or hot air balloon, after the Montgolfier brothers, who made the first flight in an aircraft of this type in 1783. As part of import substitution, the story became popular that in fact the first hot air balloon was built half a century earlier by the Russian inventor Kryakutnoy, but this is just a hoax created after the French flight and promoted in Soviet times.

The principle of hot air balloon flight is very simple: inside its shell there is air whose temperature is higher than the temperature of the surrounding air. Since the density of warm air is lower, according to Archimedes' law it tends upward under the influence of buoyant force. At the same time, the shell itself and the payload are attracted to the Earth (the shell measuring approximately 25x15 m with a basket and all equipment weighs 400-500 kg, plus passengers: there were about twenty people in our basket). The equality of these forces allows the balloon to “hover” in the air at a certain height.

How to control a hot air balloon

The main control element of the hot air balloon is a gas burner located under the shell and directed upward. It burns a mixture of propane and butane, which is taken on board in cylinders similar to those that many summer residents have in their kitchens. With the help of fire, the air in the shell is heated; the temperature rises, the ball rises. Depending on the volume of the shell (2-5 thousand cubic meters of air), payload and ambient temperature, the temperature inside is 50-130 degrees Celsius. The air in the shell constantly cools down and the ball begins to descend, so you need to periodically “add the heat” to maintain a constant height. In general, everything is simple: more fire - we rise, less fire - we maintain altitude, a little, little, little, little, little fire - we descend.

However, in order to descend, you don’t have to wait until the air cools down: in the upper part of the shell there is a valve that can be opened and closed with ropes. If you open it, some of the warm air will come out and the ball will fly down.

They take with them at least two gas cylinders (one main, the other spare) - this is enough for about one hour of flight, a variometer for measuring vertical speed and a walkie-talkie for communication with the pilots of other balloons and escort vehicles (more about them below). And, most importantly, there are no sandbags. They are used as ballast on gas balloons (with helium and other similar gases inside), and are not needed for a hot air balloon.

The top valve is open and the balloon is deflated. Pay attention to the number. In Turkey, balls are registered as TC-Bxx, for example, TC-BUM. In Russia, they are registered in the general aviation register and have the numbers RA-xxxxG. Each balloon has a certificate of airworthiness, everything is as it should be.

Where is the hot air balloon going?

We can only control the vertical speed of the balloon. Horizontally, it flies where the wind carries it. That is why a hot air balloon is unsuitable as a full-fledged vehicle: it is, after all, a pleasure aircraft. Despite this, balloon flights are regulated by aviation authorities no less than airplane flights. Each balloon is registered in the aircraft register and has a corresponding number on board, and the pilots (there are two) have a license. Flights are carried out according to visual flight rules, that is, with good visibility, the absence of strong wind is also a prerequisite. The problem is that you can only fly early in the morning at dawn or, conversely, at sunset: during the day, rising air currents from the sun-heated earth's surface make flights unsafe (and in the morning there are up and down currents, just not so strong). So you can easily face a situation where you arrived but didn’t fly anywhere - plan for several days at once just in case!

Each balloon has its own escort vehicle: a jeep with a flatbed trailer the size of a basket. Jeep - because the ball will most likely land on the wrong road. Aerobatics involves landing directly on a platform; much cooler than landing a fighter on an aircraft carrier.

If the balls collide with each other in the air, then... nothing happens, they simply repel each other and fly further. In general, it is quite difficult for the balls to collide: after all, the wind carries them in the same direction.

How is a hot air balloon flight?

First you are brought to your balloon. At this moment, he is still lying on the ground, the basket is on his side, and with the help of a powerful fan the shell is filled with air, while simultaneously heating it with a burner. At some point, the limp ball becomes elastic and soars up. The basket is turned over, passengers sit in it, climbing over the side. Inside there are two-point belts, which, however, few people use, as well as ropes that you will need to hold on to when landing. The pre-flight briefing, in fact, is that when landing you must sit down and hold on to the ropes, since there is a high probability of the basket tipping over: this will avoid injury.

Preparing for the flight

The pilot gives more fire, and... the ball smoothly soars up and to the side. It feels like riding a Ferris wheel, only much higher. And at the same time there is no noise or vibration, so even seasoned aerophobes are not afraid. And even those who are afraid of heights (and the ball rises to 1500 m with an average flight altitude of about 500) are not afraid: due to the high (about 1.5 meters) side of the basket it is impossible to fall out of it, and the standing pose provokes to look not down, but to the sides. Indescribable beauty! The real Tatooine! Turkish pilots try to fly in such a way as to get closer to the rocks, “chimneys” and give them the opportunity to examine them; they descend almost to the roofs of houses in ancient villages - of course, everything can be photographed and filmed, the main thing is not to drop the camera.

Flight altitude reaches 1500 m

By the way, there is no wind at altitude - or rather, it is not felt, because you are flying along with this very wind!

How to fly in a hot air balloon

Cappadocia, as you already understood, is a place where hot air ballooning is a developed and popular form of recreation. You will need to get to the city of Urgup, which is 70 km from Kayseri, where the nearest civil airport (ASR) is located. There are several daily flights from Istanbul (IST and SAW) to Kayseri by local airlines: Turkish Airlines, Anadolujet, Pegasus Airlines, etc. The flight is about an hour and a half. Of course, many different airlines fly all the way to Istanbul - from Aeroflot and Turkish Airlines to Onur Air and Pobeda. Buying two separate tickets to Istanbul and Kayseri can help you save a lot (and at the same time spend a couple of days in Istanbul).

Low passage over the mountain - one of the aerobatic maneuvers in hot air balloons

There are more than a dozen airlines with hot air balloons in Urgup; You can also purchase a flight through their Russian partners by simply typing the appropriate request into Google - convenient if you don’t know Turkish and want to plan everything in advance, or you can directly at the hotel in Urgup, but here everything depends on the hotel. Keep in mind that the cost of an hour-long flight is 13,000 rubles per person, including transfer from your hotel and back and a modest breakfast in the immediate vicinity of the starting point (tea, coffee, buns).

Video (pre-flight briefing, low-altitude passage, landing on an aircraft carrier, cleaning the balloon).

People have been obsessed with the idea of ​​taking to the air for centuries. In the myths of almost all nations there are legends about flying animals and people with wings. The earliest known flying machines were wings imitating those of birds. With them, people jumped from towers or tried to soar by falling off a cliff. And although such attempts usually ended tragically, people came up with more and more complex aircraft designs. We will talk about iconic aircraft in our today's review.

1. Bamboo helicopter

One of the world's oldest flying machines, the bamboo helicopter (also known as the bamboo dragonfly or Chinese pinwheel) is a toy that flies upward when its main shaft is quickly spun. Invented in China around 400 BC, the bamboo helicopter consisted of feather blades attached to the end of a bamboo stick.

2. Flying flashlight

A flying lantern is a small balloon made of paper and a wooden frame with a hole in the bottom under which a small fire is lit. It is believed that the Chinese experimented with flying lanterns as early as the 3rd century BC, but traditionally, their invention is attributed to the sage and general Zhuge Liang (181-234 AD).

3. Balloon

The hot air balloon is the first successful technology for human flight on a supporting structure. The first manned flight was carried out by Pilatre de Rosier and the Marquis d'Arlandes in 1783 in Paris in a hot air balloon (tethered) created by the Montgolfier brothers. Modern hot air balloons can fly thousands of kilometers (the longest hot air balloon flight is 7,672 km from Japan to North Canada).

4. Solar balloon

Technically, this type of balloon flies by heating the air inside it using solar radiation. As a rule, such balloons are made of black or dark material. Although they are primarily used in the toy market, some solar balloons are large enough to lift a person into the air.

5. Ornithopter

An ornithopter, which was inspired by the flight of birds, bats and insects, is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Most ornithopters are unmanned, but a few manned ornithopters have also been built. One of the earliest concepts for such a flying machine was developed by Leonardo da Vinci back in the 15th century. In 1894, Otto Lilienthal, a German aviation pioneer, made the first manned flight in history in an ornithopter.

6. Parachute

Made from lightweight, durable fabric (similar to nylon), a parachute is a device that is used to slow an object's movement through the atmosphere. The description of the oldest parachute was found in an anonymous Italian manuscript dating back to 1470. Today, parachutes are used to release a variety of cargo, including people, food, equipment, space capsules, and even bombs.

7. Kite

Originally constructed by stretching silk over a frame of split bamboo, the kite was invented in China in the 5th century BC. Over time, many other cultures adopted this device, and some of them even continued to further improve this simple flying machine. For example, kites capable of carrying humans are believed to have existed in ancient China and Japan.

8. Airship

The airship became the first aircraft capable of controlled takeoff and landing. In the beginning, airships used hydrogen, but due to the high explosiveness of this gas, most airships built after the 1960s began to use helium. The airship may also be powered by engines and contain crew and/or payload in one or more "pods" suspended beneath a gas cylinder.

9. Glider

A glider is a heavier-than-air aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air on its lifting surfaces, i.e. it is independent of the engine. Thus, most gliders do not have an engine, although some paragliders can be equipped with them to extend their flight if necessary.

10. Biplane

A biplane is an aircraft with two fixed wings that are located one above the other. Biplanes have a number of advantages over conventional wing designs (monoplanes): they allow for greater wing area and lift with a smaller wing span. The Wright brothers' biplane became the first aircraft to fly successfully in 1903.

11. Helicopter

A helicopter is a rotary-wing aircraft that can take off and land vertically, hover and fly in any direction. There have been many concepts similar to modern helicopters over the past centuries, but it was not until 1936 that the first working helicopter, the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, was built.

12. Aerocycle

In the 1950s, Lackner Helicopters came up with an unusual aircraft. The HZ-1 Aerocycle was intended to be used by inexperienced pilots as the standard reconnaissance vehicle for the US Army. Although early testing indicated that the vehicle could provide sufficient mobility on the battlefield, more extensive evaluations indicated that it was too difficult for untrained infantrymen to control. As a result, after a couple of accidents, the project was frozen.

13. Kaitun

Kaitun is a hybrid of a kite and a hot air balloon. Its main advantage is that the kite can remain in a fairly stable position above the rope's anchor point, regardless of wind strength, while conventional balloons and kites are less stable.

14. Hang glider

A hang glider is a non-motorized, heavier-than-air aircraft that lacks a tail. Modern hang gliders are made of aluminum alloy or composite materials, and the wing is made of synthetic canvas. These devices have a high lift ratio, which allows pilots to fly for several hours at an altitude of thousands of meters above sea level in updrafts of warm air and perform aerobatic maneuvers.

15. Hybrid airship

A hybrid airship is an aircraft that combines the characteristics of a lighter-than-air vehicle (i.e., airship technology) with the technology of a heavier-than-air vehicle (either a fixed wing or a rotor). Such designs were not put into mass production, but several manned and unmanned prototypes were produced, including the Lockheed Martin P-791, an experimental hybrid airship developed by Lockheed Martin.

16. Airliner

Also known as a jetliner, a jet passenger aircraft is a type of aircraft designed to transport passengers and cargo through the air, propelled by jet engines. These engines allow the aircraft to reach high speeds and generate sufficient thrust to propel a large aircraft. Currently, the Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger jet airliner with a capacity of up to 853 people.

17. Rocketplane

A rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket engine. Rocket planes can reach much higher speeds than similarly sized jet aircraft. As a rule, their engine runs for no more than a few minutes, after which the plane glides. The rocket plane is suitable for flight at very high altitudes, and it is also capable of much greater acceleration and has a shorter takeoff run.

18. Float seaplane

It is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that can take off from and land on water. The buoyancy of a seaplane is provided by pontoons or floats, which are installed instead of the landing gear under the fuselage. Float planes were widely used before World War II, but were then replaced by helicopters and aircraft operated from aircraft carriers.

19. Flying boat

Another type of seaplane, the flying boat, is a fixed-wing aircraft with a hull shaped to allow it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that it uses a specially designed fuselage that can float. Flying boats were very common in the first half of the 20th century. Like float planes, they were subsequently phased out after World War II.

Also known by other names (such as cargo aircraft, freighter, transport aircraft, or cargo aircraft), a cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted to carry cargo rather than passengers. At the moment, the largest and most payload-carrying aircraft in the world is the An-225, built in 1988.

21. Bomber

A bomber is a combat aircraft designed to attack land and sea targets by dropping bombs, launching torpedoes or launching air-to-ground cruise missiles. There are two types of bombers. Strategic bombers are primarily designed for long-range bombing missions - i.e., attacking strategic targets such as supply bases, bridges, factories, shipyards, etc. Tactical bombers are aimed at countering enemy military activities and supporting offensive operations.

22. Spaceplane

A spaceplane is an aerospace vehicle that is used in the Earth's atmosphere. They can use both rockets and auxiliary conventional jet engines. Today there are five similar devices that have been successfully used: X-15, Space Shuttle, Buran, SpaceShipOne and Boeing X-37.

23. Spaceship

A spaceship is a vehicle designed to fly in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transport of people and cargo.

A space capsule is a special type of spacecraft that has been used in most manned space programs. A manned space capsule must have everything necessary for daily life, including air, water and food. The space capsule also protects astronauts from cold and cosmic radiation.

25. Drone

Officially known as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a drone is often used for missions that are too “dangerous” or simply impossible for humans to fly. Initially they were used mainly for military purposes, but today they can be found literally everywhere.

The arrival of summer in some hot corners of our planet brings with it not only sweltering heat, but also flight delays at airports. For example, in Phoenix, Arizona, the air temperature recently reached +48°C and airlines were forced to cancel or reschedule over 40 flights. What is the reason? Don't planes fly when it's hot? They fly, but not at any temperature. According to media reports, heat poses a particular problem for Bombardier CRJ aircraft, which have a maximum takeoff operating temperature of +47.5°C. In the same time, large aircraft from Airbus and Boeing can fly at temperatures up to +52°C degrees or so. Let's figure out what causes these restrictions.

Lift principle

Before explaining why not every aircraft is able to take off at high air temperatures, it is necessary to understand the very principle of how airplanes fly. Of course, everyone remembers the answer from school: “It’s all about the lift of the wing.” Yes, this is true, but not very convincing. To really understand the laws of physics that are involved here, you need to pay attention to law of momentum. In classical mechanics, the momentum of a body is equal to the product of the mass m of this body and its speed v, the direction of the momentum coincides with the direction of the velocity vector.

At this point, you might think that we are talking about a change in the airplane's momentum. No, instead consider the change in air momentum, impinging on the plane of the wing. Imagine that each air molecule is a tiny ball that collides with an airplane. Below is a diagram that shows this process.

The moving wing collides with balloons (that is, air molecules). The balls change their momentum, which requires the application of force. Since action equals reaction, the force that the wing exerts on the air pellets is the same magnitude as the force that the pellets themselves exert on the wing. This leads to two results. Firstly, the lifting force of the wing is provided. Secondly, a reverse force appears - thrust. You can't achieve lifting without traction..

To generate lift, the plane must move, and to increase its speed, you need more thrust. To be more precise, you need just enough thrust to balance the force of air resistance - then you fly at the speed you want. Typically, this thrust is provided by a jet engine or propeller. Most likely, you could even use a rocket engine, but in any case, you need a thrust generator.

What does the temperature have to do with it?

If the wing hits just one ball of air (that is, a molecule), it will not produce much lift. To increase lift, you need a lot of collisions with air molecules. This can be achieved in two ways:

• move faster, increasing the number of molecules that come into contact with the wing per unit time;
• design wings with larger surface area, because in this case the wing will collide with a large number of molecules;
• Another way to increase the contact surface area is to use greater angle of attack due to the tilt of the wings;
• finally, it is possible to achieve a greater number of collisions between the wing and air molecules if the density of the air itself is higher, that is, the number of molecules themselves per unit volume is greater. In other words, increasing air density increases lift.

This conclusion brings us to air temperature. What is air? These are many microparticles, molecules that move right around us in different directions and at different speeds. And these particles collide with each other. As the temperature increases, the average speed of molecules also increases. An increase in temperature leads to expansion of the gas, and at the same time - to a decrease in air density. Remember that heated air is lighter than cold air; the principle of hot air balloon aeronautics is based on this phenomenon.

So, for greater lift, you need either a higher speed, or a larger wing area, or a larger angle of attack of the molecules on the wing. Another condition: the higher the air density, the greater the lifting force. But the opposite is also true: the lower the air density, the lower the lift. And this is true for hot parts of the planet. Due to high temperatures, air density is too low for some aircraft, it is not enough for them to take off.

Of course, you can compensate for the decrease in air density by increasing the speed. But how can this be done in reality? In this case, it is necessary to install more powerful engines on the aircraft, or increase the length of the runway. Therefore, it is much easier for airlines to simply cancel some flights. Or, at least, move it to the evening, early morning, when the ambient temperature is below the maximum permissible limit.