How do wings generate lift when flying upside down?
In: 91
So…this is partially the fault of the Bernoulli’s Law explanation of lift and flight, and how the only thing that ends up being emphasized is the “sHaPe oF tHe wInG” to the detriment of everything else involved in how lift works.
Drive around in your car. Get up to a reasonable speed and stick your hand out the window. Notice that as if you angle your hand upwards or downwards you can cause your hand to be pushed by the moving air in those directions.
That’s literally all lift is; the aircrafts wings deflect air downwards, and due to the conservation of momentum the amount of force applied on the air to push it downwards ends up pushing the aircraft *upwards*. If you want more lift, you change your angle of attack, and so deflect more air downwards.
Flying upside down is identical, but now you’re having to deflect the air downwards with the top of your wings, rather than the bottoms. Assuming your plane is built to structurally handle the loading, everything works the same way, just with the directions reversed.
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