Heel and Attitude

Heel went first, because her move makes the turn. She bent the wingtips into a bank — one up, one down — and launched the plane. It leaned, and the leaning lift pulled it around into a curve. "There's the turn," Heel said. "Bank the wings, lift points sideways, and it carves around the corner." But she frowned, watching it. "See the problem, though? When I bank, the lift that was holding the plane up is now partly pointing sideways — so there's less holding it up. The nose sinks. The turn spirals down toward the floor. My bank makes the turn, but on its own, the turn loses height. That's where Attitude comes in."

Attitude held the height. As the banked plane started to sink into its turn, she bent the elevator up a touch. "Heel banks it — I keep the nose from dropping," she said. "When the wings tilt, they hold up less, so the plane wants to sink. A little up-elevator raises the nose just enough to make up for it, and the plane holds its height right around the curve." She launched one with only her move — nose up, wings flat — and it just climbed straight ahead. "But see — my raised nose alone doesn't turn anything. It only climbs. A turn needs the bank; the bank just needs my lift to hold it level. I keep the height, but Heel makes the turn I'm keeping height through."

Then they did the move that is theirs — the one neither can do alone. They banked and lifted together, at the same instant: Heel tilted the wings into the turn, and in the very same motion Attitude raised the nose a touch to hold the height — and the plane carved a smooth, level arc, curving around without sinking an inch, and rolled out straight and easy. They showed the young builders each half alone: Heel's bank with no lift spiraled down toward the floor; Attitude's lift with no bank just climbed dead ahead. Then both at once — and it was a real turn. "My bank alone spirals down," Heel said. "My nose-up alone just climbs straight," Attitude said. "Together, at the same moment — a turn that holds its height." One plane, between a swallow and a kestrel, curved around clean and level as if it were the easiest thing in the world.