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This diagram shows lift as perpendicular to the longitudinal body axis. In most technical usage, lift is perpendicular to the oncoming flow. That is, perpendicular to the longitudinal stability axis. At low angles of attack, the lift is generated primarily by the wings, fins and the nose region of the body.
Lift is proportional to the density of the air and approximately proportional to the square of the flow speed. Lift also depends on the size of the wing, being generally proportional to the wing's area projected in the lift direction. In calculations it is convenient to quantify lift in terms of a lift coefficient based on these factors.
This can lead to dramatic improvements in lift for supersonic/hypersonic aircraft. Clarence Syvertson and Alfred J. Eggers discovered this phenomenon in 1956 as they analyzed abnormalities at the reentry of nuclear warheads. [1] The basic concept of compression lift is well known; "planing" boats reduce drag by "surfing" on their own bow wave ...
Lift on an airfoil is an example of the application of Newton's third law of motion – the force required to deflect the air in the downwards direction is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the lift force on the airfoil. Lift on an airfoil is also an example of the Kutta-Joukowski theorem.
The deflected or "turned" flow of air creates a resultant force on the wing in the opposite direction (Newton's third law). The resultant force is identified as lift. Flying close to a surface increases air pressure on the lower wing surface, nicknamed the "ram" or "cushion" effect, and thereby improves the aircraft lift-to-drag ratio.
In juxtaposition, the drag reduction felt by trailing agents in formation flight may be thought more of as the trailing agents "surfing" on the vortices shed by wings of leading agents, [4] reducing the amount of force needed to stay in the air. This force is known as lift and acts perpendicular to the freestream flow direction and drag.
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Aircraft flight mechanics are relevant to fixed wing (gliders, aeroplanes) and rotary wing (helicopters) aircraft.An aeroplane (airplane in US usage), is defined in ICAO Document 9110 as, "a power-driven heavier than air aircraft, deriving its lift chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surface which remain fixed under given conditions of flight".