A study of the effect of a diving start on airplane speed

摘要

Equations for instantaneous velocity and distance flown are derived for an airplane which crosses the starting line of a speed course at a speed higher than that which can normally be maintained in horizontal flight. A specific case is assumed and calculations made for five initial velocities. Curves of velocity, average velocity, and distance flown are plotted against time for each case and analyzed. It is shown that the increase in average velocity due to a diving start may be very large for short-speed courses.