"Arithmetic is the first of the sciences and the mother of safety." ¹An airplane flies because of two forces: thrust and lift.
The engines provide thrust which moves the plane forward.
The wings provide lift which moves the plane up. The wings are shaped in such a way that, as the plane moves forward, air moves faster over the top of the wing than it does below. This causes the air pressure on top of the wing to be less than underneath. The difference in pressure causes the wings to lift off the ground.
That's physics.
Either you have enough thrust and lift or the plane falls back to earth. It's as simple as that, it's numbers. The numbers provide the safety.
Once the plane is in the air there is an art to flying. Pilots can develop the je ne sais quoi to a smooth flight, averting danger, or even somersault tricks. But the plane must stay in the air, then there is an art. The finesse and nuance come after.
There is a saying that goes "there are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old, bold, pilots."
Old pilots never forget the relentless rules of humble arithmetic. A pilot can bend the rules and create dazzling maneuvers. He can also ignore the rules, but the rules are still there and he can't ignore them forever. It only takes one mistake to blow up. Therefore, an old pilot has learned that there is a balance to being bold.
NOTES:
¹ A quote that seems to originate from the French novelist Victor Cherbuliez, used by US Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, and Vanguard Group founder Jack Bogle.