- #1
jonbarril
- 7
- 0
I am trying to understand the physics of dropping a bomb from an airplane for a bombsight simulator. In particular I'm trying to understand the effects of drag on the bomb in flight.
Let's say that a bomb, shaped like a blunt bullet, has lower drag in the forward direction than it does perpendicular to that direction. If I drop a bomb with a horizontal orientation (axis parallel to the horizon) from a stationary point and with no wind, as the bomb falls its fins will weather vane it, rotating it slowly into a downward orientation.
The question is, will the bomb fall straight down, or will differential drag as the bomb falls and slowly rotates from horizontal to vertical cause the bomb to drift in the direction that the bomb was originally facing, causing it to hit the ground with some lateral distance?
Let's say that a bomb, shaped like a blunt bullet, has lower drag in the forward direction than it does perpendicular to that direction. If I drop a bomb with a horizontal orientation (axis parallel to the horizon) from a stationary point and with no wind, as the bomb falls its fins will weather vane it, rotating it slowly into a downward orientation.
The question is, will the bomb fall straight down, or will differential drag as the bomb falls and slowly rotates from horizontal to vertical cause the bomb to drift in the direction that the bomb was originally facing, causing it to hit the ground with some lateral distance?