What makes a kite fly?

 

We wrote this writing together as a class.

What makes a kite fly?

There are four forces that affect a kite when it is flying. They are gravity, lift, thrust, and drag.

Gravity is the force that keeps us on the ground. The heavier a kite is the harder it is to fly.

Lift is the force pushing the kite off the ground. Lift happens when air moves over the top of the kite at a faster speed than the air that is moving under the bottom of the kite.

The force that makes a kite move through the air is called thrust. Thrust happens with a kite when it is held in one place by its string, while the wind flows around the kite.

As air flows over the kite the wind gets held back a little by the roughness of the fabric. This friction is called drag.