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Oh, hey there! Squeaks and I were just packing for our trip.
We’re going to a museum together!
It’s going to be Squeaks’ first time ever on an airplane.
But he’s a little nervous.
Do you remember what to expect, buddy?
We’ll put our things away… buckle our seatbelts… and then we’ll take off!
You’re right, the airplane isn’t going to flap its wings like a bird.
But the airplane does need its wings to fly.
Well, when an airplane is ready to take off, the pilot turns on the engines.
The engines push the airplane forward along the ground on little wheels,
going faster and faster and faster.
The push, or force, from the engines is called thrust.
Thrust is what will help to move the airplane forward on the ground,
and eventually into the air.
The thrust force is also going to be really important for creating
another special push, or force, that will push the plane up into the air.
You see, the wings do something amazing as they move through the air.
Air doesn’t seem like very much to us.
We can’t see it, and most of the time, we don’t really feel it.
But air can push on things.
It pushes down on us all the time.
That’s called air pressure.
But air pressure doesn’t only push down.
The shape of an airplane wing can make air push it up instead!
Here, let’s check out a picture of an airplane to help show you.
Here are the wings, and these big round things are the engines.
You can see the wheels that the plane uses on the ground, too.
But let’s look at the wings of this airplane.
What do you notice about their shape?
Yeah, that’s a great observation!
This airplane’s wings are kind of flat on the underside,
but the top is a little bit rounded and curved.
Because of an airplane wing’s unique shape, air moves differently
above and below it as the airplane moves forward from thrust.
The air has to move from the front of the wing
to the back as the airplane moves forward.
But in order to get over the rounded top edge of the wings, the air has to
move faster than it does to go underneath the flat bottom of the wing.
Because the air underneath the wing isn’t having to go as fast,
it is able to put more of a push on the wings than the air above the wing.
This pressure pushes on the airplane wings, and it
pushes more up from the bottom, making the plane go…
You’re right, up!
The push from the slower air under the wings is another force called lift.
Lift does exactly what it sounds like, it lifts the airplane wings up into the air,
bringing the whole airplane up, up, up!
The airplane won’t be lifted up forever, Squeaks.
Pilots control how high up the airplane is lifted, and whether it turns left,
right, or back down towards the ground using the engines and special panels
on the wings and tail of the airplane.
Those panels can change the way air moves around the wings…
so they change the way it pushes on them, too.
Depending on where you sit in the airplane, you might even be able to
see some of these special wing panels move as we take off and fly.
I’m so glad that you’re excited to watch the airplane work, Squeaks.
And I’m glad that this is making you feel better about your first airplane ride.
Sometimes, just understanding something can make it a lot less scary.
So, now that you know how the shape of the wings and the thrust from the engines
help an airplane to take off and fly, this trip isn’t going to just be about traveling.
It’s now a great way to observe science and engineering in action!
Have you seen an airplane take off and fly before?
What would you add to airplanes to help them fly even better?
To keep exploring how the world works, and making new discoveries with Squeaks,
me, and all our friends, make sure to click the subscribe button below.
And we’ll see you next time, here at the Fort.
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