Airfoil Cockpit Lift 
Pilot Institute
JUNE 4, 2025
A tailless airplane is one where everything needed to fly, like lift, control, and stability, is built into the main wing. In level flight, the aircraft is adjusted so that the wingtips dont add lift. Use of Reflex Airfoils Ever notice how many tailless aircraft have wings that curve at the trailing edge?
Pilot Institute
JULY 11, 2025
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 means the inboard wing loses lift first, while the wingtips might still be lifting.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Vintage Aviation News
MAY 2, 2025
Although the B-47A appeared structurally sound upon arrival, flight testing revealed notable shortcomingsparticularly buffeting issues that limited both its top speed and achievable lift. The door to the cockpit area is open, showing a view of the ladder that folds down to be used by the pilots to enter and leave the area.
Flying Magazine
JULY 26, 2025
The FAA this month quietly published long-awaited guidance for the certification of powered-lift aircraft—the first new category of civil aircraft since helicopters were introduced in the 1940s. For lift during horizontal flight, they use rigid airfoils such as wings. b) regulations for special class aircraft.
Pilot Institute
JUNE 12, 2025
Key Takeaways Variable-sweep wings adjust in flight to balance lift and speed. Straight Wings and Swept Wings At low speeds, like when you’re taking off or landing, you can extend the wings straight out to produce more lift. This is because straight wings have a higher aspect ratio, which also increases the coefficient of lift.
Flying Magazine
MAY 30, 2025
That combination of requirements was incompatible with very thin wings, and in the early days of aviation it was widelythough not universallybelieved that thin birdlike airfoils were best. When engines were weak and it was hard to get into the air at all, multiple wings were an obvious way to add lift without making the airplane much bigger.
Simple Flying
JUNE 14, 2025
One of the most influential cockpit levers on a jet’s take-off is the flap handle. 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.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
Let's personalize your content