Flight Air Foils and the Angle of Attack

Wings The shape of a wing is called an “airfoil.” Airfoil: a streamlined shape with a rounded front edge and trailing back edge, designed to help lift or control an aircraft.

Airfoil The airfoil shape causes the Bernoulli principle to occur when an airplane moves. The airfoil has two characteristic parts: The leading edge is the front edge of a wing, usually rounded.

Airfoil The trailing edge is the back edge of a wing, usually sharply tapered.

Need more lift? A pilot can increase lift during flight by changing the tilt of the wing. When the leading edge of the wing is tilted up, the pressure above the wing is reduced, and more lift is created.

Up, up, and away! When the wing is tilted, the angle of attack is increased. Angle of attack is the angle created by the tilt of an aircraft’s wing. The wing’s edge forms one side of the angle and the air stream forms the other.

Angle of attack Increasing the angle of attack increases the lift. However, if the angle of attack is to big, the wing will stall and there will be no lift at all.

Too much attack

Review Airfoils cause lift and have two parts: leading edge and trailing edge Tilting the wing increases the angle of attack. A greater angle of attack increase lift.