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That's Why

AARON FOSTER—GETTY IMAGES

Why does an airplane fly? Because . . .

A. it doesn’t like to walk.

B. it’s lifted by fast-moving air.

C. heat from the Earth lifts it up.

The answer is B. When an engine pulls a plane forward, air moves across the top of the wing faster than it moves below it. This creates lift. The Wright Brothers put this to work in 1903, when the plane they invented flew for 59 seconds.

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