Many ask the simple question "what makes
an airplane fly?" The answer one frequently gets is misleading and often just plain wrong.
The exact same problem is found in sailing:
"Popular concepts as to how sails generate lift, and how two sails interact with each other are discussed in light of modern aerodynamic research. Much of the old sail theory in the sailing references is shown to be wrong." [1]
His joke aside, it illustrates an important point: there are a variety of ways to produce lift. For example, when one observes a jet overfly the runway during an airshow, holding its altitude while on its side, the engine is the source of the majority of its lift in that scenario.
Excellent resource and augment to the conversation here, thank you for posting! Totally love seeing the Harrier in that video - I saw one live at Oshkosh and WOW that thing was LOUD.
The exact same problem is found in sailing:
"Popular concepts as to how sails generate lift, and how two sails interact with each other are discussed in light of modern aerodynamic research. Much of the old sail theory in the sailing references is shown to be wrong." [1]
[1] http://ljjensen.net/Maritimt/A%20Review%20of%20Modern%20Sail...