gnerosy

This is a little late, but 50 years ago I began to doubt the basic Bernouli explanation of pressure difference between the top and bottom of the wing. That doubt was easy to validate by taking 15 psi (max atmospheric pressure at sea level), multiplying it times the the wing area of a cargo plane, and finding the resulting force was not even in the ball park of the max payload to be lifted. Obviously there are a lot more forces generated by other phenomena. Seems to me the only way you can get the lift (force) numbers you need to match payload is the downward redirection of the mass of air above the wing (F=ma). I just can't see any of the pressure differential answers noted by others reaching the magnitudes necessary to multiply times wing area to match payload.