• Question: how do planes fly when they are so heavy ?

    Asked by Annabel to Alex, Amanda, Marco, Olivia, Sha on 9 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Alex Evans

      Alex Evans answered on 9 Mar 2017:

      Great question!

      In order to fly, you want to be as light as possible – which is why planes are made out of light-weight materials, but they are still quite heavy!

      Planes can get around this problem by moving very fast through the air! Planes with jet-engines can make a lot of thrust, which helps generate lift and keep the plane in the air.

      Planes without engines like gliders, rely on other planes pulling them into the sky to gain speed, and they will slowly descend as they are not powered.

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