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Old May 12th, 2008, 12:13   #11
B767Driver
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Default Re: Very Basic Aerodynamics Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by tobaknight View Post
The Camber of the wing is such that the air on the top of the wing has more surface to pass than does the air on the bottom. Like any other fluid the speed of the air increases to cover that larger surface, while the air passing under the wing has less surface area to cover and thus a slower speed is necessary to cover that area. In line with Bernouli's principle the difference in speeds is accompanied by a difference in resulting pressures, i.e. the faster air moving over the top of the wing has less pressure than the slower air moving under the wing. That difference in pressures is what lifts the wing.

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This is getting into something commonly referred to as the equal transit theory...which is taught by the FAA actually...but has led to a convenient, but not quite accurate theory of how lift is produced.

Camber does play a significant role...along with the viscosity of the air...but the top and bottom of the wing are independent in this discussion and leads to some inaccuracies. However, camber alone doesn't produce lift...because symmetrical airfoils have zero camber and can sustain flight, right?

What really produces lift is the combination of the conservation of matter plus bernoulli's theorem.

As pilots, I think we need to get away from the Newtonion lift and Bernoulli lift.

I'd love to chime in more...but gotta run. I'm sure some other guys will run with this.
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