How does a plane fly? The wings make lift, the force that holds a plane up in the air. The engines make thrust, a push that moves the plane forward through the air. Airplanes cannot switch gravity off. They make forces that oppose gravity but do not remove it.

A plane has to move for its wings to make lift. A plane that is not moving through the air makes no lift. Lift only works where there is air. The higher a plane goes, the thinner the air gets.

A pilot steers a plane by moving parts on its wings and tail. The elevators control pitch, the rudder controls yaw, and the ailerons control roll. The ailerons are on the back edge of each wing. One goes up while the other goes down, and the plane rolls.

Flaps and slats let a plane keep enough lift while flying slowly at takeoff and landing. A slat is a movable part on the front edge of a wing, and a flap is one on the back edge.

Flaps also add drag, and that helps a plane slow down for landing. After the wheels touch down, spoilers pop up on top of the wings. They spoil the lift, which presses the plane onto the runway so its brakes work better.

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made the first flight of a powered airplane in 1903. They took turns flying on December 17, 1903, and made four flights that day. The first flight lasted only 12 seconds. The Wright Flyer went 120 feet on that first flight.

Words to know

• ailerons: back wing parts
• rudder: tail part
• spoilers: top wing parts
• slat: front wing part