Window Seat

Part One

Lila had never been on an airplane before. Today she was flying to see Grandma. She got the window seat.

The airplane was big and white. Out the window Lila saw one wide wing. Flaps lined its back edge.

Dad leaned over. "Those flaps tilt down for takeoff," he said. "They give the wings more lift."

The engines roared. The airplane raced down the runway, faster and faster. Lila felt her seat press against her back.

"Why do we go so fast?" asked Lila. "A plane has to move," said Dad. "Then its wings can make lift."

Then the ground dropped away. The wheels left the runway. The airplane lifted into the sky.

Lila pressed her nose to the window. The buildings looked like tiny blocks. "What holds us up?" she asked.

"The wings," said Dad. "Lift is the force that holds the airplane up. Our engines make thrust, a push that moves us forward."

Lila watched the clouds slide by. The tail kept the airplane pointed straight ahead. The pilot steered with parts on the wings and tail.

Soon the plane tilted down, and the flaps moved again. The wheels bumped onto the runway. Grandma was waiting.

Lila ran to Grandma. "I flew in the sky," she said. "The wings held us up the whole way!"