In this work, the takeoff and landing of an airplane are studied through Newton’s second law. Both processes are briefly revised. As a result, analytical expressions are obtained for the distances travelled in the airstrip and its dependences with the airplane weight, its power curve, the aerodynamic configuration, the rolling resistance and the atmospheric conditions. Mathematical features of the solutions are studied for didactical purposes. The results yielded by the analysis are compared with takeoff data obtained in the literature, for a commercial airplane, and with experimental data, obtained in the university laboratory for a small size unmanned aerial vehicle. In both cases, the analytical solutions obtained are considerably accurate.
takeoff and landing; aeronautical engineering
