U.S. airlines carry more than 800 million passengers per year. Lasha Kilasonia/iStock via Getty Images Plus March 18, 2024 How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight Craig Merrett, Clarkson University People have been flying airplanes for well over a century. Engineers know how to balance all the forces at play, but still aren’t exactly sure how some of the physics of flight actually works.
Ski jumpers use aerodynamics and physics to overcome gravity – at least for a while. AP Photo/Matthias Schrader February 9, 2022 Ski jump: Flying or falling with style? Amy Pope, Clemson University Ski jumpers do everything they can to counteract the effects of gravity and fly as far as they can down hills.
Marcella Cheng/The Conversation March 11, 2018 Curious Kids: Why aren’t birds pulled down by gravity while they’re flying? Simon Griffith, Macquarie University To stay up, the bird must overcome gravity with a force called ‘lift’.