How Does Lift Work? (How Airplanes Fly)

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Flight has a long and interesting history. At first, people thought it was the feathers on birds that gave them the ability to fly. People even tried sticking feathers onto their arms in order to fly! Needless to say that didn't work. There have been hundred of flying contraptions designed since, including Leonardo da Vinci's 'Ornithopter' in 1485. In 1905 the Wright brothers pioneered and manufactured the first motor powered aircraft - fast forward over 115 years later and we're able to sit in flying structures that travel at 85% the speed of sound and take us around the globe.

Lift is the key enabling force in flight. Lift is made up of two components. Angle of attack, and a pressure differential. The angle of attack is simply the angle between the wing and the horizontal. A large angle of attack will push air downwards, and consequently the air pushes back on the wing, moving it upwards. Too large an angle however can cause the wing to stall and lose lift.

A pressure differential is created by the wing having a highly curved surface on the top side. This squeezes the air and causes it to travel faster. Faster moves air has a lower pressure, meaning the wing is 'sucked' upwards, creating lift.

Wings are highly optimised for specific applications which is why there are hundreds of types of wings in nature and our industrial world!

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