Flying and gravity inside a habitat

2008/4/30 Mark :
> Okay, I got a question...
>
> Say you're inside a rotating space habitat and you take a jaunt in
> your microlight aircraft. Once you're actually in the air, and did
> some maneuvering, if you cut power...would you fall?

No, glide.

> There isn't really any gravity inside your rotating habitat, after
> all. The rotation of the habitat that creates a simulation of
> gravity. But if you're not touching the outer surface, why would the
> rotation affect you?

It wouldn't. On the other hand, any rotation you're making with the
aircraft would.

> (Yes, air rushing by you would affect you, but
> probably not in exact the same way as real gravity.)

Actually, it's very, very similar. if you were flying the same plane
and the control surfaces were set the same you'd get the same feeling.
Once you leave the ground on Earth, you're in freefall, the whole of
the aircraft is falling as one- APART from the lift of the wings and
thrust of the engine and drag of the airframe- you don't feel gravity
at all.

> In fact, would
> you even feel the "gravity" if you were in the air?

Technically not.

> So...what would happen and why? And what related complications (or
> benefits) are going to result from the fact that the "gravity" inside
> a rotating habitat isn't really gravity?

You could write a book on that!

You could play with my java space station simulator. It has an airdrag
feature now that you can turn up. It doesn't do planes only ballistic
bowling balls though:

http://www.wolfkeeper.plus.com/coriolis/

> Thanks.
>
> Mark

--
-Ian Woollard

We live in an imperfectly imperfect world. If we lived in a perfectly
imperfect world things would be a lot better.