Book 23, Question 6
How Does Weight Pull on Every Flyer?
Weight is Earth's gravity pulling on everything. Even things that fly must deal with it. A hummingbird weighs less than a nickel coin.
More fun facts
- Weight is the pull of Earth's gravity on an airplane.
- Gravity doesn't need to touch the airplane to pull on it.
- An airplane's weight always points toward the center of the Earth.
- Its weight includes the plane itself, its fuel, and its people, bags and cargo.
- An airplane gets lighter during a flight as it burns fuel.
- Isaac Newton worked out his ideas about gravity when he was only 23 years old.
Sources: NASA
Questions kids ask
What is the center of gravity?
It's the single point where we can think of all of the airplane's weight as acting.