How Does an Airplane Fly 

 Airplane Articles

• How Does an Airplane Fly

• What are the Different Types of Airplane

• What is the Difference between an Airplane and a Space Vehicle

• What is an RC Airplane

• What are Ailerons, Flaps, Rudder, Elevator on an Airplane

• What are the Different Parts of an Airplane

• What is an Airfoil and What are its Different Types

• What is Reynolds Number

• How to Check RC Airplane Center of Gravity

How Does an Airplane Fly - What are the Four Forces of Flight

In this article, we will look into how does an airplane really fly and what are the four forces of flight lift, drag, thrust and weight.

Ever wondered how does an aircraft really fly. An aircraft is under the influence of four forces which are Lift, Drag, Thrust and Weight.

In order for the aircraft to fly a steady flight there must be a balance condition between the four forces which is,

Lift = Weight

Thrust = Drag

It is important to realize that lift and thrust have positive impact and weight and drag have negative impact. Though it may not be possible to eliminate weight and drag, it is job of engineers to minimize weight and drag of the aircraft and to maximize the lift and the thrust of an aircraft.

The Four Forces of Flight - Lift, Drag, Thrust and Weight