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What Is Bernoulli’s Principle? A Simple Guide for Pilots

Pilot Institute

Airfoils use this principle, with faster airflow over the top creating lower pressure. Wing Camber Wing camber defines how much more curved the wings upper surface is compared to the lower surface. Engineers use Bernoullis principle to shape airfoils to optimize the pressure difference needed for efficient lift generation.

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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

This setup makes the wing less efficient overall, but it can reduce drag, weight, and cost compared to using a separate tail. High aspect ratio wings reduce drag and improve performance during climb or slow flight. On the flipside, a decrease in aspect ratio will result in higher drag. This type of design is a reflex airfoil.

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Mach Number Explained: What It Is and Why Pilots Use It

Pilot Institute

Lift, drag, and handling correlate well with IAS in the lower atmosphere. Making the wing relatively flat on top with a blunter leading edge and more curvature on the bottom gives you a supercritical airfoil. This type of wing redirects the shockwaves further aft on the wing, reducing drag. roughly) up to about Mach 5.0.

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The Role of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation

Pilot Institute

They are designed with a special shape called an airfoil, which encourages passing air to turn and deflect downward. One is the upper wing surfaces curvature compared to the lower surface, called wing camber. High camber generally promotes more airflow deflection, thanks to something called Bernoullis Principle.

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The Most Misunderstood Aerodynamic Concepts

Flight Training Central

When he created his principle of differential pressure, he had no thoughts about its future application to the development of airfoils and lift production. With some imagination this looks a bit like the top of an airfoil. In the case of our airfoil, we’ll assume that the fluid is air and that the air is relatively still.

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Why Aircraft Sometimes Takeoff With More Flaps Than Usual

Simple Flying

Hinged panels at the wing’s trailing and leading edges transform a sleek airfoil into a low-speed lift sail. Increasing camber, flaps propel an airliner to lift off at lower speeds, trading a little drag for a lot of lift. One of the most influential cockpit levers on a jet’s take-off is the flap handle.