The Production of Lift by an Airfoil

Understanding the Lift Equation

Why does a pilot need to understand lift and how it is produced?

Simply put, if an aviator possesses rudimentary knowledge of lift production, then what
follows is the understanding of how much control over the process the pilot has in the
cockpit. Lift is what makes an aircraft fly.

The Lift Equation, as described below, is used to mathematically determine the lift
produced by an airfoil. Upon completing extensive experimental tests of an airfoil in a
wind tunnel, the formula can be used to fill in the blanks for which actual data does not
exist or may be used to predict future results. There is much more to designing an airfoil,
but this article describes it use and application in simple terms as an introduction to the
equation.

The equation itself is fairly simple mathematics. There are several variables that must
be replaced with numbers. Each of the variables are multiplied together to obtain a result
and then divide the result by two. The answer is the amount of lift produced by that
airfoil. It is important to note that in the real world of flying, lift changes constantly
because the variables change constantly. The pilot’s actions have a direct affect the
amount of lift being produced at any given time.

L = (1/2) ρ V2 s CL

L = Lift, which must equal the aircraft’s weight to maintain level, unaccelerated flight or
a stabilized climb or descent.

ρ = (Greek symbol for “Rho”) density of the air. This will change with altitude. These
values can be found in an ICAO Standard Atmosphere Table (Table A).

V = velocity of the air.

s = wing area.

CL = coefficient of lift. More on this later.

 AIR DENSITY (“Rho”)

I.C.A.O. Standard Atmosphere Table

A review of Table A reveals the
Altitude Density Speed of Sound
density altitude value decreases
(Feet) (d) (Knots)
0 .002377 661.7 only slightly with an increase in
1,000 .002308 659.5 altitude.
2,000 .002241 657.2
3,000 .002175 654.9 This indicates the change in
4,000 .002111 652.6
5,000 .002048 650.3
density plays a role in calculating
6,000 .001987 647.9 lift, but the amount is quite small.
7,000 .001927 645.6
8,000 .001868 643.3 Standard conditions do not exist
9,000 .001811 640.9 in the real world of aviation. The
10,000 .001755 638.6
15,000 .001496 626.7 circulation and uneven heating of
20,000 .001266 614.6 the atmosphere alter the actual
25,000 .001065 602.2 value constantly.
30,000 .000889 589.5
35,000 .000737 576.6
36,089 .000706 573.8
The pilot has no ability to
40,000 .000585 573.8 modify the density of the air and,
45,000 .000460 573.8 to this extent, no ability to modify
50,000 .000362 573.8 the outcome of the lift equation.
55,000 .000285 573.8

Table A
 VELOCITY

For the lift equation, velocity is the speed of the air measured just far enough ahead of
the airfoil that it remains undisturbed. It is also known as the free-stream velocity.

However, pilots are usually unable to measure this air flow ahead of the wing. Instead
the airspeed indicator gives the pilot an indication of how fast the aircraft is traveling
through the air.

Pilots greatly affect the speed of the air by varying the power developed by the engine
that is ultimately translated into forward thrust.

Varying an aircraft’s velocity significantly alters the outcome of the lift equation. From
mathematical analysis, it can be seen that when the pilot doubles the airspeed - lift is
quadrupled.

WING AREA

The amount of lift generated by an object depends on the size of the object. Lift is an
aerodynamic force and therefore depends on the pressure variation of the air around the
body as it moves through the air. The total aerodynamic force is equal to the pressure
times the surface area around the body. Lift is the component of this force perpendicular
to the relative wind (generally, the flight path or direction). Like the other aerodynamic
force, drag, the lift is directly proportional to the area of the object. By conducting a
mathematical analysis, one can see that doubling the area doubles the lift.

The basic area of the wing is generally fixed by the manufacturer and cannot be changed
by the pilot. With the addition of certain types of flaps (Fowler) or slats to the wing, the
area can be increased to provide additional lift for take-offs and landing.

COEFFICIENT OF LIFT (CL)

In general, a complex dependency determined by airfoil shape, inclination (angle of

attack), air viscosity, and compressibility. This value is derived at experimentally.

The Coefficient of Lift (CL) is determined by the type of the airfoil (symmetrical,
asymmetrical), angle of attack (inclination to relative wind), and the viscosity and
compressibility of the air. Aircraft designers will experimentally test an airfoil and
determine its particular CL.

The one value included in the CL that a pilot has control over is the angle of attack.
The relationship of the angle of attack and CL can be found using a Velocity Relationship
Curve Graph. Chart B shows the relationship for an asymmetrical airfoil. Up to a point,
for a given increase in angle of attack there is a corresponding increase in the CL.

(Chart B and Figure 1) Positive lift is obtained a zero angle of attack. Lift increases linearly and significantly up to approximately 10
degrees. From 10 to 16 degrees there is a linear increase, but the total amount is much less than from 0 to 10 degrees. At 16 degrees
the lift increase slows radically. After 18 degrees lift gain is negligible. At 19 degrees the stall is imminent. After 20 degrees lift falls
off considerably and the airfoil stalls.

Figure 1.

As a wing moves through the air, the wing is inclined to the relative wind at some angle.
The angle between the chord line and the relative wind is called the angle of attack and
has a large effect on the lift generated by a wing (Figure 1, upper left). When an airplane
takes off, the pilot applies as much thrust as possible to make the airplane roll along the
runway. Just before lifting off, the pilot "rotates" the aircraft. The nose of the airplane
rises, increasing the angle of attack and producing the increased lift needed for takeoff.

The magnitude of the lift generated by an object depends on the shape of the object and
how it moves through the air. As shown in Chart B, for thin airfoils, the lift is directly
proportional to the angle of attack for small angles (within +/- 10 degrees). For higher
angles, however, the dependencies become quite complex. As an object moves through
the air, air molecules stick to the surface (viscosity). This creates a layer of air near the
surface called a boundary layer that, in effect, changes the shape of the object. As a
result of flow turning, the air stream then reacts to the edge of the boundary layer just as
it would to the physical surface of the object. To make things more interesting, the
boundary layer may lift off or "separate" from the body and create an effective shape
much different from the physical shape. The separation of the boundary layer explains
why aircraft wings will abruptly lose lift at high angles to the flow. This condition is
called a wing stall.

As depicted on Figure 1, the flow conditions for two airfoils are shown on the left. The
shape of the two foils is the same. The lower foil is inclined at ten degrees to the
incoming flow, while the upper foil is inclined at twenty degrees. On the upper foil, the
boundary layer has separated and the wing is stalled. Predicting the stall point, or critical
angle of attack (the angle at which the wing stalls), is very difficult mathematically.
Engineers usually rely on wind tunnel tests to determine the stall point. However, the test
must be done very carefully, matching all the important similarity parameters of the wind
tunnel tests to the actual flight hardware.

A wing will stall at any angle, gross weight, or airspeed. All that is necessary is to
exceed the wing’s critical angle of attack.

The plot at the right of the Figure 1 shows how the lift varies with angle of attack for a
typical thin airfoil. At low angles, the lift is nearly linear. Notice on this plot that at zero
angle a small amount of lift is generated because of the airfoil shape. If the airfoil had
been symmetric, the lift would be zero at zero angle of attack. At the right of the curve,
the lift changes rather abruptly and the curve stops. In reality, you can set the airfoil at
any angle you want. However, once the wing stalls, the flow becomes highly unsteady,
and the value of the lift can change rapidly with time. Because it is so hard to measure
such flow conditions, engineers usually leave the plot blank beyond wing stall.

Since the amount of lift generated at zero angle and the location of the stall point must
usually be determined experimentally, aerodynamicists include the effects of inclination
(angle of attack) in the lift coefficient. For some simple examples, the lift coefficient can
be determined mathematically. For thin airfoils at subsonic speed, and small angle of
attack, the lift coefficient is given by:

CL = 2 * π * a
where π is 3.1415, and a is the angle of attack expressed in radians (1° = π/180, 2° = 2(π /
180), 3° = 3(π /180), etc.