Right… I’m saying that an airfoil without angle of attack on a glider will plummet, and a flat plate with angle of attack will glide, because air won’t move faster over the top surface of the wing just because the path is longer - instead, angle of attack causes the air on the underside of the wing to slow down, and the air on the top of the wing is not slowed down (in the reference frame of the aircraft).
Flat plate wings are not preferred because there is turbulent flow induced by its movement, not because it doesn’t provide enough lift.
All I said was that it’s a point of some contention.
I’m just gonna go with NASA on this one:
There are many explanations for the generation of lift found in encyclopedias, in basic physics textbooks, and on Web sites. Unfortunately, many of the explanations are misleading and incorrect. Theories on the generation of lift have become a source of great controversy and a topic for heated arguments.
Lift occurs when a flow of gas is turned by a solid object. The flow is turned in one direction, and the lift is generated in the opposite direction, according to Newtons Third Law of action and reaction. Because air is a gas and the molecules are free to move about, any solid surface can deflect a flow. For an airfoil, both the upper and lower surfaces contribute to the flow turning. Neglecting the upper surface’s part in turning the flow leads to an incorrect theory of lift.
I think the two of you are having different arguments together.
You’re saying it’s a contributing factor and they’re saying it’s not the cause. Both of these things can be true.
We are taught in school that planes can fly because of the shape of the wing. That isn’t necessarily true even if it does have influence. It can happen without the wing shape. It may happen more effectively with it, but that wasn’t the claim.
Right… I’m saying that an airfoil without angle of attack on a glider will plummet, and a flat plate with angle of attack will glide, because air won’t move faster over the top surface of the wing just because the path is longer - instead, angle of attack causes the air on the underside of the wing to slow down, and the air on the top of the wing is not slowed down (in the reference frame of the aircraft).
Flat plate wings are not preferred because there is turbulent flow induced by its movement, not because it doesn’t provide enough lift.
All I said was that it’s a point of some contention.
I’m just gonna go with NASA on this one:
I think the two of you are having different arguments together.
You’re saying it’s a contributing factor and they’re saying it’s not the cause. Both of these things can be true.
We are taught in school that planes can fly because of the shape of the wing. That isn’t necessarily true even if it does have influence. It can happen without the wing shape. It may happen more effectively with it, but that wasn’t the claim.
You can both be right here.