Understanding Angle of Attack

Written by Scott Stoops Flight Training Column As seen in the February 2013 issue of Model Aviation. On a trip with family and friends to Mexico, we were lucky enough to end up in the last row of coach for the four-hour flight. Sitting across the aisle from a family friend, he queried as to why it seemed as though we were severely tilted nose-up, even in cruise flight. In my typical wordy fashion, I proceeded to outline the basics of flight and specifically the angle of attack (AOA). Seeing his eyes glaze over after a minute or so, I decided that this column would make a…