The following question, "How does an airfoil create lift?" comes from Ms. Gillespie's class. I love watching airplanes take off at the airport. I think it’s an amazing feat of human engineering that ...

We’ve probably all experimented with a very clear demonstration of the basic principles of lift: if you’re riding in a car and you put your flattened hand out the window at different angles, your hand ...

Without the aerodynamic forces of lift and drag, aircraft would be unable to fly, wind turbines would not spin, and countless other machines that we depend on every day would not work. What, exactly, ...

Understanding Aerodynamic Lift! Posted: July 10, 2025 | Last updated: July 12, 2025 Humanity has long been obsessed with heavier-than-air flight, and to this day it remains a topic that is shrouded in ...

Olympic ski jumpers are all tip and no wing, so how do they do it?

As the angle of attack is increased on a high-performance airfoil, a small amount of separation occurs near the leading edge. This separation causes the boundary layer to transition from laminar to ...