Examine the forces that act on an airplane, the pilot controls, and the design process engineers use to develop airplanes that manage these conditions.
From this page, you can learn about airfoils and wind tunnels and how these factored into the Wright Brothers' attempts to create a flying machine. You can also see pages from the Wright Notebooks.
This site, developed by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, answers your pressing questions about the basic principles that make it possible for aircraft and spacecraft to fly.
This NASA resource describes the basics of flight using diagrams, charts and descriptors. Included are: the four forces of flight, plane movements, cockpit instruments and explanation of each.
A database of paper airplanes with easy to follow folding instructions, video tutorials and printable folding plans. Find the best paper airplanes that fly the furthest and stay aloft the longest.
Use this animated diagram of the Wright brothers 1903 Flyer to find out how they controlled the plane during the first flight by a "heavier than air" aircraft.
This video takes you through the basics of pitch, roll and yaw. And find out how you can control them on the flight deck and which control surface you use.
How is a bicycle like an airplane? In this video, you can learn how the Wright brothers took their knowledge of bicycles and applied it to making airplanes.
