TABLE OF CONTENTS "After running the engine and propellers a few minutes to get them in working order, I got on the machine at 10:35 for the first trial. The wind, according to our anemometers at this time was blowing a little over 20 miles; 27 miles according to the government anemometer at Kitty Hawk. On slipping the rope the machine started off increasing in speed to probably 7 or 8 miles. The machine lifted from the truck just as it was entering the fourth rail."
From the Diary of Orville Wright for 17 December 1903
The study of airfoils in Chapter 3 gave insight into how wings generate lift, but it did not tell the whole story. The flow over a wing near the wing tips is very different from the two-dimensional flow around an airfoil. The differences have profound effects on the lift and drag generated by a wing. Understanding these effects is crucial to the aircraft designer who must shape an aircraft's wing to optimize its performance. Section 4.2 discusses wing lift-and-drag theory and analysis methods.
Other components besides the wing contribute to an aircraft's lift. The lift contributions of the aircraft's fuselage, control surfaces, high-lift devices, strakes, etc. all must be considered to predict an aircraft's lifting capability accurately. The aircraft's maximum lift coefficient is one of the governing factors in an aircraft's instantaneous turn capability, landing speed and distance, and takeoff speed and distance.
