An airplane flies because of its wings.

The wings are shaped in a special way — kind of like a slide on top and flat on the bottom. When the plane moves fast, the air goes over the top of the wing and under the bottom. The air on top goes faster and creates less pressure, and the air underneath goes slower and pushes up.

That pushing-up force is called lift, and it helps the airplane stay in the sky.

So in short:

•  Engines make the plane go forward
•  Wings shape the air to lift the plane up
•  Air does the rest!

It’s kind of like when you stick your hand out the window of a moving car and tilt it — your hand lifts up! That’s the same idea.