Afighter plane flying horizontally at an altitude of 1.5 km with speed720 km/h passes directly overhead an anti-aircraft gun. At what anglefrom the vertical should the gun be fired for the shell with muzzlespeed 600 m s–1to hit the plane? At what minimum altitude should the pilot fly theplane to avoid being hit? (Take g= 10 m s–2).
Height of the fighter plane = 1.5 km = 1500 m
Speed of the fighter plane, v = 720 km/h = 200 m/s
Let θ be the angle with the vertical so that the shell hits the plane. The situation is shown in the given figure.
Muzzle velocity of the gun, u = 600 m/s
Time taken by the shell to hit the plane = t
Horizontal distance travelled by the shell = uxt
Distance travelled by the plane = vt
The shell hits the plane. Hence, these two distances must be equal.
uxt = vt
In order to avoid being hit by the shell, the pilot must fly the plane at an altitude (H) higher than the maximum height achieved by the shell.