We were very lucky to get to go to the airport and watch planes take off and land. We learned a lot about the airplane at an airport.

All airplanes follow a flight profile. This means it follows the same pattern everytime. The first part of a flight is the takeoff. The next step is to Taxi. This is when the pilot moves the plane from the parking spot, past the other parked planes and then onto the runway.

The pilot stops the airplane before moving onto the runway and does an engine runup to make sure everything is working. The pilot then moves the airplane onto the active runway, applies power, and the airplane starts the takeoff roll. When the airplane reaches a certain speed, the pilot pulls back on the control wheel or stick, the nose rises slightly, then the airplane rises completely off the ground and is flying.

Climbis the second part of flying. The plane must go up in a certain climb and airspeed. The plane does this until it is up as high as the pilot needs to take it.

The descent stage is next after the plane gets where it wants to go. The pilot goes through several check and moves the plane around until it is in a straight line with the runway.

Take a look at our diagram of a flight profile pictured below.

Forces Flight Home