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Airplanes

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Submitted By Mr273855
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Drag and Gravity

Planes that push a lot of air, like your hand did when it was facing the side, are said to have a lot of "drag," or resistance, to moving through the air. If you want your plane to fly as far as possible, you want a plane with as little drag as possible. A second force that planes need to overcome is "gravity." You need to keep your plane's weight to a minimum to help fight against gravity's pull to the ground.
Thrust and Lift

"Thrust" and "lift" are two other forces that help your plane make a long flight. Thrust is the forward movement of the plane. The initial thrust comes from the muscles of the "pilot" as the paper airplane is launched. After this, paper airplanes are really gliders, converting altitude to forward motion. Lift comes when the air below the airplane wing is pushing up harder than the air above it is pushing down. It is this difference in pressure that enables the plane to fly. Pressure can be reduced on a wing's surface by making the air move over it more quickly. The wings of a plane are curved so that the air moves more quickly over the top of the wing, resulting in an upward push, or lift, on the wing.
The Four Forces in Balance

History of the Paper Airplane
There is some evidence of paper kites and gliders that originated in Ancient China and Japan. In Europe, it was only during the Renaissance period onwards that inventors attempted to create paper models of a machine that could fly. The Wright brothers were the ones who invented airplanes, and they did this by testing out miniature paper models! Toy paper planes only became popular much later, during WWII. Since all materials and supplies were rationed, children made or received airplanes made from paper instead of metal, wood, or plastic!

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