And then there is the ground effect. The air displaced by the wings would simply push the aircraft skywards. We can feel the effect whenever we fly, that last few seconds of approach when the aircraft glides above the runway before falling through the cushion of air, or it being pushed through if Ryanair. At 550mph that effect is five times as great, if a staight linear relationship, although I am not sure that it is. Pilots know this, but they have their jobs to worry about.
i used to be a member of WIG ( wing in ground effect craft) these are experimental ""vessels"" which you do not need insurance to fly or a pilots license as they do not go into airspace which is 150 ft above ground .
sea birds fly at wave top height as the formula is 1.5 times your wingspan for effective ground effect at slow speed --this unique area transforms anything flying through it and it almost halves the energy required for lift and flight --so nature has discovered that birds can fly almost twice the distance for food for the same or less energy than flying 20ft off the waves .
your golf ball has dimples to capture the boundary layer around the ball and stabilize its path through the air .
type in LUN aircraft or CASPIAN SEA MONSTER to see this brought to extremes where 300 tons of aircraft with 6 cruise missiles pointing upwards on the outside could fly around the Caspian sea for a day .
the pilots were geniuses and they needed a shed of computers to assist them but they did it .
you mention Ryanair and you are correct the plane when it hits the boundary layer wants to take off again and you have to fight it and push the stick forward to push it through -- sometimes too aggressively -- i once passed an open door of a Ryanair flight and i thanked the crew i said ""my back was out for years you sorted it thanks "" .
the truth is Ryanair pay more and they are incredibly strict who they let fly their planes and they are monitored like the KGB run the show ,
if you fly for Ryanair you are the best of the best and that is the industry view also.
I am a passenger and i deplore the manner they treat people down to deliberately constructing seats which do not fit large elderly people like me . some of who have to use the ferries and if you are disabled don't expect anyone to love you .
i have my own seat belt extension for ryanair as their own is 4 inches shorter than any other airline and they don't want anyone heavy flying with them .
