Explanation Text

“How a Plane Flies”

By : Sarah Indriani

Class : IX.5

Pre-International Standart School

AC : 2012/2013
How a Plane Flies
Today, Everyone must see a plane flying. Even Some of the people have flown
with an airplane. Have you ever thought why this heavy metal object can be lifted in
the air? How can the airplane fly?

An airplane flies because it can generate a force. The force is scientifically called
Lift. It normally moves that heavy airplane upward. So, how does the Lift happen?
Well, lift occurs by the generating of the forward motion of the airplane through the
air. Please note that this motion of the airplane is produced by what we call the
Thrust of the engines.

There are four forces which act on a flying airplane. They are Thrust, Lift , Drag
and Weight. How do these four forces work? When the Thrust which is produced by
the engines is greater than the force of Drag which is produced by the resistance of
the air, the airplane will moves forward. When the forward motion is enough to
produce a force of Lift which is greater than the force of Weight, the airplane will
moves upward.