An airplane wing, or airfoil, is curved more on the top than at the bottom. In order for air to travel from the front of the wing to the back (as in forward motion) at the same time on top of the wing as on the bottom, the air must travel faster on the top than the bottom creating a vacuum. The greater the speed, the greater the vacuum. When the vacuum exceeds the weight of the plane, flight is achieved.
A common misconception of flight is that air pressure under the wing pushes the airplane up, when in fact it's a vacuum on top of the wing that sucks the airplane up.
mrgreekgod
2006-02-13 16:13:53 UTC
The four aerodynamic forces that act upon an airplane in flight are lift (the upward acting force), weight (or gravity, the downward acting force), thrust (the forward acting force), and drag (the air resistance or backward acting force). These four forces are continuously battling each other while an airplane is in flight.
mnj
2006-02-13 15:51:50 UTC
it can be explained on bernoulli principle of fluids. go to howstuffworks.com and search how plain flies.
2006-02-13 14:33:34 UTC
ah? by moving. how do you stay above water
?
2006-02-13 14:50:17 UTC
Magic. You do believe in magic, don't you?
momsclown2002
2006-02-13 23:39:28 UTC
with lift
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