An airfoil uses Bornoulli's Principal to create lift. This principal states as speed of the air increases the pressure decreases. If you have noticed, an airfoil has a special shape to it. The upper part of the shape is curved instead of flat. This curve increases the surface distance on top of the shape from front to back. When this foil travels air passes over the top and the bottom. The air when it travels over the top has more of a distance to travel, then the air on the bottom. For this reason the air on the top travels faster to "catch up" to the air on the bottom. According to Bornoulli's Principal as air "speeds up" the pressure decreases. Now we got a low pressure area on top and a relatively high pressure area in the bottom. In effect the area on the bottom pushes up and creates lift.
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