3 ms·

Well, this is the way I explain it to other people; including the oversimplification part. The real problem - which is probably just my lack of educational expe

• Retric 16y ago
  A stab at an in between explanation. Flat wings work with a positive angle of attack (EX: paper airplane). The problem with scaling this up is turbulence at the sharp edge. A gently curved surface reduces turbulence and drag. Remove enough turbulence and you get a laminar flow which hugs both sides of the wings. You can deflect a laminar flow down to increase lift. (See faucet experiment.) Control surfaces on the wing redirect the flow to push the aircraft in a new direction. Incresing the angle of attack increases lift until you reach the critical angle of attack ~15 degrees when you lose laminar flow and a sudden drop in lift occurs. Stall speed is the speed below which you can't maintain level flight by increasing angle of attack. High performance aircraft and trade efficiency for performance (EX: an F-15 landed after losing a wing http://www.uss-bennington.org/phz-nowing-f15.html http://www.uss-bennington.org/phz-nowing-f15.html) Super sonic flight behaves somewhat differently. (See faucet with increased pressure.)