I understand how they remain afloat. But how do they gain horizontal speed in air. What keeps them moving ?
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Planes have whats called jet engines. They take in air from the front, heat it up and blast it backwards. Newtons third law says “If an object A exerts a force on object B, then object B must exert a force of equal magnitude and opposite direction back on object A.”
So if you push something away from you, there is an equal force pushing you in the opposite direction.
They push air behind them very hard, either using a propeller or a jet. In both cases, because of Newton’s third law (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction), pushing air backward makes them go forward.
Engines. In order for the airfoils (wings) to work, the plane needs thrust, and that is supplied by its engines.
Suck, squeeze, bang, blow.
Jet engines pull in air, compress it, mix it with fuel and ignite it, then expel it backwards, pushing the engine – and the plane it’s attached to – forwards.
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