SpaceTRC / Aviation
Aerodynamics lab
Watch how a wing turns the air, live. Change the angle of attack, speed and altitude and discover for yourself how lift, drag and stall arise.
L = ½ · ρ · V² · S · CL
ρ is air density, V speed, S wing area and CL the lift coefficient. Double the speed and lift quadruples.
Interactive
The air around a wing
The lines are the paths of air particles and their colour shows speed. In blue regions the air speeds up and pressure falls; in orange regions it slows and pressure rises. The difference between low pressure above the wing and high pressure below creates lift.
Try it: push the angle of attack past 15° and watch the stall, or slow the A320 at 11,000 m to see the effect of thin air.
Lift curve (CL–α)
Standard atmosphere and aircraft
This is an educational model: the flow picture is ideal (potential) flow around a Joukowski aerofoil, and the numbers come from finite-wing theory and the ICAO Standard Atmosphere. Stall is simplified at 15°; aircraft values are approximate.
Basics
Six ideas behind flight
Angle of attack
The angle between the wing’s chord and the oncoming air. Lift grows with the angle, but beyond a certain point the flow separates from the wing.
Stall
When the angle of attack passes the critical value (around 15° for most wings) the air breaks away from the upper surface and lift drops suddenly. It depends on angle, not speed, and can happen at any speed.
Bernoulli and Newton
Air speeding up over the wing creates lower pressure (Bernoulli); the wing also pushes air downwards and is pushed up in reaction (Newton). They are two descriptions of the same thing.
Drag
The air’s resistance to motion. Friction and form drag grow with speed, while induced drag, the price of making lift, dominates at low speed.
Aspect ratio
The square of the wingspan divided by wing area. A glider’s long, slender wings (aspect ratio above 20) cut induced drag and raise the glide ratio.
Standard atmosphere
Air thins with height: at 11 km its density is about 30% of sea level. Airliners must fly faster up there, but they burn less fuel.
Learn more in Flight science, see real aircraft on the Live flight map and look up terms in the space glossary.
- ICAO Standard Atmosphere (Doc 7488).
- J. D. Anderson, Fundamentals of Aerodynamics: Joukowski transform, Kutta–Joukowski theorem and finite-wing theory.
- NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginner’s Guide to Aeronautics.
Last updated: 2 November 2026