The reason I didn't believe the curved-upper-surface explanation as a kid was that meant that the volume of low-pressure air would have to be similar to the vol

The reason I didn't believe the curved-upper-surface explanation as a kid was that meant that the volume of low-pressure air would have to be similar to the volume of a blimp for it to be useful for lifting the plane, even if it were as efficient as hydrogen; the wings would have to be many times the size of the fuselage.