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Re: Misconceptions: Physics of Flight

On Tue, 10 Aug 1999, romanza wrote:

Many texts give the explanation for lift of an aerofoil --- that the
distance travelled by air on the upper surface is greater than the lower
surface, and hence air must travel at a faster speed in order to
"catch-up" with air on the lower surface. This is quite a common
misconception in explaning lift. But can someone enlighten me on how to
give a more correct version without involving technical details like
circulation, Joukouski Theorem etc.

Here is an example which ignores pressure-difference, but instead
concentrates on mental visualization and the acceleration of mass:

AIRPLANE FLIGHT ANALOGY
http://www.amasci.com/wing/rotbal.html


Also, Mr. Denker has written a critique of the above article:

http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/fly/rotbal.htm


I recently added a response to his critique:

http://www.amasci.com/wing/rotbal2.html



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