AGK Question

[G CEXO]

When an aircraft is in a steady climb, the aerodynamic lift is ......... the weight.

A. Balanced by
B. Equal to
C. Less than
D. Greater than

The answer is given as Less than (C). I am absolutely going mad over this as I clearly can't understand why, Please help. I always thought the lift is greater than the weight in a climb. :ugh::ugh::ugh:


G CEXO :sad:

[BHenderson]

I think we can accept that weight is constant for a given moment in time. Lets also assume for the sake of simplicity that lift acts vertically upwards in opposition to weight. Thrust acts along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. Now in a climb the aircraft pitch angle is angled slightly upwards which effectively adds some thrust to the lift. For the forces to balance we must reduce the lift to less than weight, so that the sum of lift and the thrust acting vertically now equal weight.

[MIKECR]

The answer is quite correct. In a steady climb, lift is less than weight. Thrust is what acts in addition to lift to overcome weight.