Airplanes achieve flight through the interplay of four fundamental forces: lift, thrust, drag, and gravity. Wings generate lift due to air pressure differences, while engines provide thrust to ...

Even in 1800, it was understood—by at least one person, a certain George Cayley—that two forces, weight and drag, were antagonistic to flight and that there must be two corresponding forces to ...

When the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made their historic first flight in 1903, they revolutionized how humans would traverse the world. Their biplane, "The Flyer," stayed in the air for only ...

Without the aerodynamic forces of lift and drag, aircraft would be unable to fly, wind turbines would not spin, and countless other machines that we depend on every day would not work. What, exactly, ...

The Wright brothers' success stemmed from their innovative three-axis flight control system (roll, pitch, yaw), which they patented, not just the application of existing aerodynamic principles. While ...

Kirsten Hibbard from the Challenger Learning Center was in the TV5 studio to show us an experiment that helps explain the forces involved with the flight of airplanes. The same forces that help real ...

Uplifting structures: the denticles are inspired by the shortfin mako shark. (Courtesy: James Weaver/Harvard University) A shark skin-inspired design can dramatically improve the lift of an aerofoil, ...

Paul M. Sutter is a theoretical cosmologist, NASA advisor, host of the "Ask a Spaceman" podcast, and a U.S. Cultural Ambassador. He is the author of "Your Place in the Universe" and "How to Die in ...