Matt Mullins - How Does It Fly? Jet Plane

Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing Ann Arbor, Michigan www.cherrylakepublishing.com Content Adviser: Jacob Zeiger, Production Support Engineer, the Boeing Company Photo Credits: Cover and page 1, Carlos E. Santa Maria/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 5, iStockphoto/icholakov; page 7, RenataFedosova/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 9, Pincasso/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 11, Talyzov Alexey/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 13, Igor Dolgov/Dreamstime.com; page 15, Stocktrek Images, Inc./Alamy; page 17, iStockphoto/choja; page 19, iStockphoto/sjlocke; page 21, Gary718/Dreamstime.com. Copyright 2012 by Cherry Lake Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Mullins, Matt. p. cm.(Community connections) Includes bibliographical references and index. cm.(Community connections) Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-61080-069-3 (library binding) ISBN-10: 1-61080-069-9 (library binding) 1. Jet planesJuvenile literature. I. Title. II. Title: Jet plane.

TL547.M75 2011 629.133349dc22 2010051585 Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Please visit www.21stcenturyskills.org for more information. Printed in the United States of America Corporate Graphics Inc. July 2011 CLFA09

You hear it roar overhead when youre near an airport. You see it high in the sky. It leaves trails of white clouds.

It is a big, fast jet plane. Do you know why its called a jet? Because it has jet engines . These engines usually hang from the wings. How many jet engines do you see on this jet plane? Jets are very big. They have a lot of things to carry. They carry a lot of people.

They carry plenty of gasoline for the engines. They carry food and drinks. They also carry luggage . Sometimes they even carry passengers pets! Passengers sit in rows of seats. Some luggage is kept in bins above their heads.

When you walk onto a jet plane, look at all the seats.

Guess how many people can ride in the jet. Did you include the people who work on the plane, called the crew ? Ask a crew member. Did you guess correctly?

Jet planes fly even though they are heavy. Jet engines give the plane thrust . Thrust moves the plane through the air. Wings provide lift .

Their shape makes the air push the plane up. The faster the engine moves the plane, the more the air pushes up! A jet plane must gain speed to take off.

Pay attention the next time you are near a jet plane. Look at its engines and wings. Which is bigger, the front or the back of the engine? How is the top of the wing shaped differently than the bottom? Engines take in air through a wide, open front. They add fuel to the air and burn it.

The heated air escapes through the smaller back of the engine. This moves the plane forward. A wings shape makes air go fast on top. Air moves slowly underneath. This causes lift.

Not all jet planes carry people and luggage. Not all jet planes carry people and luggage.

Some carry cargo . This includes trucks, big containers, or big machine parts. The largest cargo plane in the world is the Antonov An-225. Its wingspan is about as long as a football field! This planes nose can lift up so containers or other items can be loaded onto it. The An-225 and other cargo planes also carry supplies to areas hit by disasters. This usually includes food and medicine.

Very large cargo planes might even carry other planes! The An-225 is just one example. The 747 is another. NASA used 747s to carry the space shuttles. NASAs 747 Shuttle Carriers took shuttles from their launch and landing sites.

Airports have runways. Planes land and take off from runways.

Runways are long and wide. Why do you think they are so long? Why so wide? Why do big airports have many runways?

Jet planes do not fly themselves. A crew of people operates a jet plane. The pilot flies the plane. Other trained people help make sure the planes systems operate correctly. They also help steer and locate places the plane must go.

A copilot helps the pilot fly and keep track of the planes systems. Flight attendants help passengers. Flight attendants bring food and drinks and answer questions. They also make sure passengers keep their seat belts on. Ground crews load luggage onto planes. They put fuel in the plane.

They show pilots where to go when the plane is on the ground. A flight attendant hands out lunch to passengers. Jet planes can be huge. It takes a lot of people to operate them! Pilots, flight attendants, and other crew members need training. They learn how the plane works. They practice what to do if something goes wrong.

Are you interested in jet planes? Maybe one day you could become a member of the crew! A ground crew member helps a jet pilot see which way to go.

Flying machines have been around longer than you might think. Ask a librarian or teacher about the earliest flying machines. How did people begin to fly? Ask for help to learn about this, too. cargo (KAR-goh) items carried by planes, cars, trucks, and ships crew (KROO) the people who work together on a machine or project