An In-depth explanation of the generation of lift

[Prosper]

So people have to go out and study Kutta, Prandtl et al to get a reasonable grasp on why an aeroplane flies?  Really?

In fact Andrew, I said people would have to study if they wanted to know why an aerofoil section is better than a flat plate, not to grasp why an aeroplane flies - we've already established that it flies by pushing air down.

I hope you're recovered from your chest infection.

Stephen.

[pb_guy]

Newton's third law does does explain the general overall result: 'pushing air down pushes the wing up'. But exactly how it does that is most interesting (and intriguing) indeed.
ian

[OZPAF]

There is a basic flaw in the description of the mechanism of the airflow diversion.

It is not due to the airflow meeting the inclined bottom surface of the airfoil - it is the result of the formation of a vortex generated at the trailing edge which then generates or rather imposes a vortex field around the airfoil, leading to the velocity differences between the top and bottom surfaces of the airfoil.   

The explanation given (originally thought of by Newton BTW) in this Video, does not account for the actual volume of air displaced downwards which at the wing is a cylinder of a spanwise diameter of 1.41 X the span of the wing.

Also incidentally I believe that this incorrect deflection explanation is almost correct for supersonic flight!

Although it is not necessary to know this to successfully fly models or even full size - it can come in handy.

the impressive performance of modern RC F5J models and the latest competition FAI FF models bears out the advantage of applying knowledge to design.

John