How do airplanes generate lift to fly and remain airborne?

Airplanes use moving air to create lift, which helps them fly and stay up in the sky.

Imagine you're on a swing. When you push off the ground, you go higher, that’s like how airplanes work. The wings of an airplane are shaped like a curve on top and flatter on the bottom. As the plane moves forward, air flows over the wings. The curved top makes the air move faster, which creates less pressure above the wing. At the same time, the flatter bottom has slower-moving air with more pressure. This difference in pressure pushes the airplane upward, just like how you're pushed upward on a swing.

Think of a slide at the park, when you go down it quickly, you feel a push forward. Airplanes' wings are kind of like that slide. The shape makes air move faster over the top and slower underneath, pushing the plane up so it can soar through the sky.

When the airplane goes faster or changes its angle, more lift is created, just like when you jump higher on a swing! That’s how airplanes stay in the air and fly from one place to another.