Push The Envelope
In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or altitude. The term is somewhat loosely applied, and can also refer to other measurements such as maneuverability. When a plane is pushed, for instance by diving it at high speeds, it is said to be flown "outside the envelope", something considered rather dangerous.
Flight envelope is one of a number of related terms that are all used in a similar fashion. It is perhaps the most common term because it is the oldest, first being used in the early days of test flying. It is closely related to more modern terms known as extra power and a doghouse plot which are different ways of describing a flight envelope.
Read more about Push The Envelope: Extra Power, Doghouse Plot, Velocity Vs. Load Factor Chart, Sidenotes, "Pushing The Envelope", See Also
Famous quotes containing the words push and/or envelope:
“Well, Mary, only six more days to go and your old Nathan will be out of the army. Haven’t decided what I’ll do yet. Somehow I just can’t picture myself back there on the banks of the Wabash rocking on a front porch. No, I’ve been thinkin I, maybe I’ll push on west, new settlements, California.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)
“Geroge Peatty: I’m gonna have it, Sherry. Hundreds of thousands, maybe a half million.
Sherry Peatty: Of course you are, darling. Did you put the right address on the envelope when you sent it to the North Pole?”
—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)