LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is a new year, and today we begin a new feature: "Ask CNN." Every day about this time, we'll bring on an expert or whatever to answer one of the many questions that we get from our viewers. So here now, the first question and answer of the new year.</s>SYNOVIA MAXWELL, ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Hello, my name is Synovia. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. And my question is, how do airplanes stay in the air when they're really heavy?</s>CARL ROCHELLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Synovia, you're dealing into physics now. And, actually, an airplane flies because of wing 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 in the back and slats that go out in 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.</s>HARRIS: And now you know. So you have a question for us, you can ask CNN by logging onto our Web site at CNN.com. There's a special section there for your questions. And then watch right here on EARLY EDITION to get the answers.
Ask CNN: How do Heavy Airplanes Stay in the Air?