Paper Airplanes and Flight

Have you ever wondered how planes fly in the air? They are so big. For real.

• Let’s look at some of the common characteristics of things that fly. Looking at bird wings and plane shapes the main characteristic is the aerofoil shape.
• The wings of birds and planes have what is called an aerofoil shape. This aerofoil shape helps us overcome weight which is the effect of gravity pulling down on the mass of the aircraft.

Bernoulli’s principle helps explain that an aircraft can achieve lift because of the shape of its wings.  The curve of the wing that allows more wind to travel over the top of the wing than the bottom of the wing.


Science Behind Flight
Aviation the flying or operating of aircrafts.
Aeronautics is the science behind flight.


There are four forces that help an airplane fly. The four forces are lift, thrust, drag, and weight or gravity. 


Thrust is generated by the engines of the aircraft.
Our thrust is going to our forward launch throwing the paper airplane.

Lift is the force that directly opposes the weight of an airplane and holds the airplane in the air. Lift is generated by every part of the airplane, but most of the lift on a normal airliner is generated by the wings.

Gravity is the force that will be pulling a paper airplane to the ground.

• In order to make a paper airplane fly as far as possible and help fight against gravity, they must keep their plane as light as possible.

Drag is the aerodynamic force that opposes an aircraft's motion through the air. 

Want to make the paper airplanes we made? Check the out right here.

March is Women's History Month so we have a question for you.
​Who became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20, 1932? Connect with us on social and share your answer.

Famous First in Aviation
https://www.infoplease.com/math-science/aviation/famous-firsts-in-aviation