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Energy, Heat & MotionAeronautics

How Planes Really Fly

The famous ‘longer path over the top’ explanation is wrong

The biggest jets weigh hundreds of tons, yet air holds them up. The famous textbook explanation is wrong. So what's really going on?

You'll find out

  • Which air reaches the back first
  • What a wing really does to the air
  • How planes manage to fly upside down

Why it matters

Planes, birds and paper airplanes all stay up the same way. Next time someone repeats the myth, you'll know better.

About 4 min7 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 27 · Zone 3

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