Quote:
Originally Posted by Cubdriver
Suction on the top is not even half of the lift force being generated.
|
That's all wrong...the only exception might be certain extreme aerobatic aircraft while doing extreme manuevers.
Bernoulli (on top) provides the vast majority of the lift...we could not fly without it. Newton (equal-and-opposite reaction on the bottom) provides some lift, but the amount is far smaller than bernoulli in normal ops and varies with flight conditions and wing design.
For a typical subsonic aircraft the lift breakdown is like this...
Bernoulli: 70-90%
Newton 10-30%
It should be obvious that high angles of attack produce more Newton. But in order to achieve Newton lift you need a large deflecting surface...large surfaces in the slipstream create large amounts of drag. Because drag is product of Newton in this case, we prefer to use as much Bernoulli as possible (it has it's own drag, but far less than Newton). Airplanes are designed for max Bernoulli lift in cruise flight to reduce fuel burn and extend range.