If thrust exceeds drag, the aircraft will:

If thrust exceeds drag, the aircraft will:

• A. Accelerate
• B. Decelerate
• C. Stall
• D. Hover

Answer: (A)

The key idea is the balance of forces along the forward direction. Thrust pushes the airplane forward while drag resists that motion. If thrust is larger than drag, the net force is forward, so the aircraft accelerates according to F = ma. As speed increases, drag rises (roughly with the square of speed), so that forward net force diminishes until thrust and drag balance at a higher speed (assuming thrust stays the same and conditions don’t change). This explains why you’d see acceleration until a new steady cruising speed is reached. Stall is about lift dropping below the weight due to angle of attack or airspeed, not about thrust versus drag. Hovering isn’t typical for a fixed-wing aircraft; it requires a different configuration or very high thrust-to-weight ratio.

The key idea is the balance of forces along the forward direction. Thrust pushes the airplane forward while drag resists that motion. If thrust is larger than drag, the net force is forward, so the aircraft accelerates according to F = ma. As speed increases, drag rises (roughly with the square of speed), so that forward net force diminishes until thrust and drag balance at a higher speed (assuming thrust stays the same and conditions don’t change). This explains why you’d see acceleration until a new steady cruising speed is reached.

Stall is about lift dropping below the weight due to angle of attack or airspeed, not about thrust versus drag. Hovering isn’t typical for a fixed-wing aircraft; it requires a different configuration or very high thrust-to-weight ratio.