Angle of Attck


The angle of attack is the angle at which an airfoil passes through the air. This angle is measured between the chord of the airfoil and the relative wind.
The chord is an imaginary line from the leading edge to the trailing edge of an airfoil. Increasing the angle of attack deflects the airstream and causes an upward (or downward pressure, depend of position of the longer surface of an aerofoil) pressure on the underside or upperside of the airfoil. This in turn increases the speed of the airflow over the longer side of the airfoil. As air-flow-speed increases, pressure on the foil's top side is further reduced. The upward pressure on the foil's underside and pressure reduction on the top side combine to furnish lift or downforce.
Angle of incidence (fixed-wing aircraft or car) is the angle between the airfoil chord line and the longitudinal axis or other selected reference plane of the aircraft or car.
The angle of attack and angle of incidence are measured in angles.
