What Causes an Airplane to Fly?

Test Your Knowledge ! Match term with letter. Weight Drag Lift Thrust A_______ B________ C________ D________

Newton’s Third Law FFFFor every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. WWWWhat does this have to do with flight?

Thrust  The goal of a jet engine is to produce thrust. The engine pushes air molecules out the exhaust end of the turbine to generate a high speed jet of exhaust gas. THRUST!

Thrust from the engine moves the airplane forward.

Drag  As the plane moves forward the air around it creates a force called Drag.  Drag resists the movement of the airplane.

Lift  How does an airplane create lift?  We can look to our fine feathered friends for the answer

Lift  Air moves faster over the wing than underneath it.  Because faster air exerts less pressure than slower moving air………………………..

Lift  ……………....The pressure underneath the wings lifts the plane off the ground

Flight  To stay in level flight the following relationships must be true;  A) Lift = C) Weight  B) Thrust = D) Drag

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