How does an airplane fly even though it is much heavier than air?

An airplane flies because it pushes air down, and the air pushes the airplane up, like when you jump on a trampoline.

Imagine you're wearing big shoes, and you stomp really hard on the ground. The ground pushes back, and that helps you jump higher. That's kind of what happens with airplanes.

The wings of an airplane are shaped like stretched-out spoons, they’re curved on top and flat on the bottom. When the airplane moves forward, air flows over these wings. Because of their shape, the air moves faster on top of the wing than underneath it.

Faster-moving air means less pressure, like when you blow up a balloon and let go, the air rushes out quickly. So there’s more pressure underneath the wing than on top. This difference in pressure pushes the airplane upward, that’s called lift.

It’s like having a big invisible hand under the airplane pushing it up while it moves forward, even though it's heavy!