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Angle of Attack

Decrease the Angle of Attack: Speed increases. Lift decreases. Drag decreases

Increase the Angle of Attack: Speed decreases. Lift increases, Drag increases

Normally as the angle of attack increases we produce more lift and more drag. However we can only angle the wing so much before flow around it becomes turbulent. At this point the wing dramatically loses its ability to create lift efficiently and drag increases even more. The point where this occurs is known as the stall. Wings work over a rather narrow range of angles to the relative wind such that the stall is reached when this angle exceeds approximately 20 degrees. Again it is important to emphasize that at the stall the wing generates less lift rather than no lift at all. This is relevant as much from the point of view of reassuring students that the world is not going to come to an end with the stall as it is for explaining how we can still exert useful control over the aircraft.