From news Wed Apr 4 16:41:04 2001 Path: ditka!bounce-back Newsgroups: sci.aeronautics.airliners Date: 04 Apr 2001 16:41:31 From: gbeaman@pei.sympatico.ca (Gord Beaman) Subject: Re: How Important Is Cross-section Shape Of Wing? References: Message-ID: Approved: hrose-saa@ckdhr.com@ditka.Chicago.COM Sender: hrose-saa@ckdhr.com@ditka.Chicago.COM X-Trace: sapphire.mtt.net 986103654 142.176.73.200 (Sun, 01 Apr 2001 01:40:54 AST) X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.21/32.243 Organization: ISLAND TEL NNTP-Posting-Host: 142.176.73.200 bbarksdl@aol.com (BBarksdl) wrote: >In the April issue of Discover magazine, Robert Kunzig challanges the textbook >explanation of the principles of flight. I have always felt the books were >wrong on this when they say that the shape of the wing invokes Bernoulli's >Principle to provide the lift required. Kunzig refutes the role of Bernoulli's >Principle. He says that planes fly by pushing air down, getting lift from the >equal and opposite reaction that pushes the plane up. I'm trying to reconcile >that with my own thoughts on the subject - that the forces that cause an >airplane to fly are essentially the same as those that cause a kite to fly. >Either way you look at it, the shape of the wing is not the main element. >Otherwise, how could a plane fly upside-down? As an old barnstormer was >reported to have said, "Give me enough power, and I'll fly a barn door." Sure, I agree with that, I think that the wing shape just augments the forces that actually provide lift, which, as you say, is the reaction of the wings 'pushing' the airmass down.