How does an aeroplane fly?

There is not a single, simple answer to explain how and aeroplane flies. There is a combination of effects. However, one of these can be modelled using simple materials.

The Challenge

We were asked to take a piece of card and move it through the air, so that it stays in the air without 'holding onto it' with anything. We could touch it, but we couldn't grip it by holding on to it with our fingers or another device. We spent some time working scientifically by exploring, experiencing and being curious. We 'played with purpose' with our card wings. Some of us tried throwing our wings in different ways, varying the angle, height and position to see if we could keep them in the air. Some of us tried blowing, using a jet of air to keep the wings up. They didn't stay in the air for long. Some of us noticed that, if the wind was blowing at us hard enough, the wing could remain pressed against our bodies.

Action and Reaction

After a while, some of us hit on a way of meeting the challenge. Using a flat, open hand, we 'carried' the wing. Exploring this method, we started to move faster and tipped our hands forward in the direction of travel to stop the wing falling. Rotating the wing further created a force that we could feel pushing back against our hands as we moved forward.

As we tilted the wing forwards, we felt the air push back against it as we ran. Some of this push was against us and some of it felt like it was going up, giving the wing lift. It was tricky to keep the wing in place without holding it, but with practice we got better at 'flying' it across the playground. Some of us even managed to 'fly' one wing in each hand.

Lift

This is not the only way lift on a wing is generated. There are other effects that we might also model at some point, including Bernoulli's principle, but the lift we generated is an example of Newton's Third Law. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the air flows down from underneath the wing, the wing itself is 'pushed' upwards.