There are four fundamentals of flight that every student pilot learns at the beginning of flight school: straight-and-level flight, turns, climbs, and descents. These are the basic maneuvers that allow pilots to operate and control the airplane, and mastery of them is essential before learning more advanced maneuvers. To perform them, pilots rely on the four forces of flight — lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Lift is an upward force that allows the airplane to leave the ground