DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to start our new year with a new feature that we have here at CNN. We are simply calling it "Ask CNN." Everyday about this time, we will answer one of the many questions we get from our viewers. So here is the first question, and the answer as well.</s>SYNOVIA MAXWELL: Hello. My name is Synovia. I am from Atlanta, Georgia. And my question is: How do airplanes stay in the air when they are really heavy?</s>CARL ROCHELLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Synovia, you are dealing into physics now, and actually an airplanes flies because of wind, generated by the lift, and that lift is generated by speed, the airplane going through the air. So a very big airplane flies essentially the same way a very small airplane does, it just requires more power, to drive that wing forward, through the air, and it requires more wingspan. Now, one of the things that the jets do, because to have a wing go very fast, as in jet flight, the wing needs to be very trim. And the wing is designed that way to make sure it can handle slower flight, there are flaps and slats. Flaps that go out on the back, and slats that go out on the front. And they actually make the wing broader and create more lift just in that takeoff and landing realm. But, up in the air, enough power, enough wing, enough lift, and almost anything will fly.
Ask CNN: How Do Airplanes Stay in the Air When They are Really Heavy?