Originally Posted by
ICEMAN757200
The critical angle of attack is the angle of attack on the
lift coefficient versus angle-of-attack curve at which the maximum lift coefficient occurs, and it defines the boundary between the wing's
linear and
nonlinear regimes. Flow separation begins to occur at this point, decreasing lift, increasing
drag, and changing the wing's
pitching moment.
However, while one can expect that flow separation would increase drag and decrease lift, this does not mean maximum lift coefficient! The lift coefficient comes from many parts of airfoil - including the high-pressure area under the wing - so increase of lift there might more than compensate loss of lift due to flow separation...