How Airplanes Fly
How Airplanes Fly
Have you ever looked up at the sky and wondered how airplanes stay up there? It seems like magic, but it's actually science! Airplanes fly because of a few important things working together.
Lift: Pushing Upward
The most important thing that helps an airplane fly is lift. Lift is a force that pushes the airplane upward, fighting against gravity. Airplanes get lift from their wings. Airplane wings are specially shaped. They're curved on top and flatter on the bottom. As the wing moves through the air, the air going over the top has to travel farther than the air going underneath. This makes the air on top move faster.
Fast-moving air has lower pressure than slow-moving air. Because of the wing shape, there's lower pressure above the wing and higher pressure below the wing. This difference in pressure creates lift, pushing the wing (and the airplane) upward!
Thrust: Moving Forward
Lift is important, but an airplane also needs something to push it forward. This is called thrust. Thrust is the force that moves the airplane through the air. Airplanes get thrust from their engines. Some airplanes have propellers, and others have jet engines.
- Lift:
- The force that pushes an airplane upward.
- Thrust:
- The force that moves an airplane forward.
- Gravity:
- The force that pulls everything down toward the Earth.
- Drag:
- The force that slows an airplane down.
- pressure:
- The push or force that air exerts on the surface of an object.
- streamlined:
- Shaped with smooth, curved lines so that air or water flows easily around an object with little resistance.
One passage, many ways to practice
Reading-skill questions, word work and writing prompts — all built from this text.
Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Vocabulary
Practice words from the passage with a printable worksheet.
Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
Fix the Sentence
Practice editing sentences drawn from this passage with a printable worksheet.
Ready to use this passage in class?
Start free with the Mixed worksheet and 3 PDF downloads each week. Focused skill sets depend on plan.
Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What is lift and how does it help an airplane fly?
- 2Why are airplane wings curved on top?
Where this passage belongs
About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“How Airplanes Fly” is a explanatory article reading passage about Airplanes, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (405 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.