Q&A with Dan Berkowitz, Airplane Pilot

posted by Flora Lichtman on Thursday, February 15. 2007

American Airlines pilot Dan Berkowitz kindly answered some questions about planes and flying, right from Gate 41 at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

Q: How does a plane get off the ground?
A:

(click to listen)

Q: The new double-decker, 555 seater Airbus A380 was recently cleared for commercial use and is in the process of being tested, what's the inside scoop on this plane?

A:

Q: Do you think these giant planes are the future of commercial air travel?

A:

Q: What causes turbulence?

A:

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Posted by Flora Lichtman in AAAS Meeting on Thursday, February 15, 2007, 6:28 PM | Comments (9)

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posted by Greg on 2007-02-17 00:18, comment number: 1

The pilot's explanation of how a wing provides lift starts out okay (hand out the window, etc.), but then he pulls the out the old Bernoulli-curved-top theory which is actually only part of the story, and not a big part according to some.

(Reply)

posted by Flora on 2007-02-17 12:33, comment number: 1.1

Hey Greg - thanks for the comment. What's the other part of the story?

For more on this debate, check out: http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2004/Aug/hour2_082704.html

(Reply)

posted by Ira Flatow on 2007-02-20 09:36, comment number: 1.1.1

Yes, I agree with Greg. The Bernoulli idea is really old school and has been debunked. In reality, because the wing is very smooth on top, a fluid, like air, will hug the wing and follow it's curve. This is called the Coanda effect. It's why water does not drip off your elbow but follows your arm down and around and then drips.
On the wing, the air flows along the top of the wing, and as the wing tilts downward, the air flows downward. Air goes down, plane goes up. Newton's Third Law of Motion. Action, reaction. Like a rocket ship.
See a wonderful book called "Understanding Flight" by Anderson and Eberhardt

(Reply)

posted by Reenie on 2007-03-22 00:23, comment number: 1.1.1.1

It may be "old school", but there are many lay people (read: not pilots, not scientists) for whom the explanation given by Berkowitz would be greatly appreciated. I'm kind of confused. If you interviewed the pilot and found his explanation lacking, why not ask him to elaborate at that time?

(Reply)

posted by Flora Lichtman on 2007-03-22 08:00, comment number: 1.1.1.1.1

Hi Reenie - I did the airport interview and the explanation sounded good to me. I didn't know about of the Bernoulli/Coanda debate until Greg and Ira posted. If I had, I definitely would have asked about it!

(Reply)

posted by Reenie on 2007-03-22 08:41, comment number: 1.1.1.1.1.1

Makes sense! (I didn't mean to be rude.) In 1986, I was a music/English major, changing to science. The pilot you interviewed (who was a friend at the time) was the only person that made the Bernoulli effect (and most of first-year physics)eminently understandable to me. Imagine my surprise when I hit your website and found this interview!

(Reply)

posted by douglas edgar on 2008-11-03 00:07, comment number: 1.1.1.2

The Bernoulli idea is real and the coranda principle is complete foolishness.
Don't fall for such foolishness, if you want to be a pilot!

(Reply)

posted by jonathan on 2008-07-16 17:25, comment number: 2

I am a design student looking for a pilots opinions on my futuristic perception of the red bull air races of 2025. My design has a jet engine and a fuselage shaped like a fish along with rotating wings to compensate for the short wings with no aierlons or flaps. Aerodynamics and hydrodynamics are similiar and I was wondering if my design can be justified by Dan. I can send you a sketch to justify my description if you would like.

(Reply)

posted by Quraishi on 2008-11-09 15:01, comment number: 3

In our pilot training, we have theory papers also.will it be helpful for us?

(Reply)

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