lift, wings, and Bernuolli
But the Bernoulli principle applies to compressible and
incompressible flow.
True. But your original text suggested that the fluid *had* to be
compressible.
The trailing edge is depicted as pointing up; does it do so when the
wing is at a lifting angle of attack?
Good question. I don't know. Anyway, remember that there is no
overall downward movement of the air unless there exist wingtip
vortices. This suggests that the important downward momentum of air
happens *after* the air leaves the trailing edge. I'm not certain
that what direction the trailing edge is actually pointing is
critical. I'm skeptical that if you have an airfoil generating
positive lift, just tilting the trailing edge upwards slightly is
going to kill that lift.
Also, although theory (Kutta Condition) says that the air flow leaves
the trailing edge smoothly, my understanding is that in real life, the
rear stagnation point will be somewhat on the top surface of the
airfoil anyway.
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