Engineering

✈️ How Do Airplanes Fly?

It's heavy metal, but it floats like a bird. How?!

Airplanes are huge and heavy. A Boeing 747 weighs as much as 400 cars! So, how does it stay up in the sky? The secret is in the wings and the engines.

The 4 Forces of Flight 🛫

To fly, a plane needs to balance four things: Lift (Up), Gravity (Down), Thrust (Forward), and Drag (Slow Down).

The Secret Shape of Wings 🦅

Airplane wings are curved on the top and flat on the bottom. When the plane moves fast, air moves quicker over the top of the wing. This creates low pressure above and high pressure below, pushing the wing UP!

🌪️ Fun Fact: The engines don't lift the plane; they just move it forward fast enough so the wings can create lift!