Camber (aerodynamics)

In aeronautics and aeronautical engineering, camber is the asymmetry between the two acting surfaces of an airfoil, with the top surface of a wing (or correspondingly the front surface of a propeller blade) commonly being more convex (positive camber). An airfoil that is not cambered is called a symmetric airfoil. The benefits of cambering were discovered and first utilized by George Cayley in the early 19th century.^[1]

^ Rumerman, Judy (n.d.). "Sir George Cayley—Making Aviation Practical". Centennial of Flight Commission—History of Flight. American Aviation Historical Society. Retrieved September 2, 2019. Experiments that he began to carry out in 1804 allowed him to learn more about aerodynamics and wing structures using a whirling arm device. Cayley observed that birds soared long distances by simply twisting their arched wing surfaces and deduced that fixed-wing machines would fly if the wings were cambered. This was the first scientific testing of airfoils as the part of the aircraft that is designed to produce lift.

[1] Rumerman, Judy (n.d.). "Sir George Cayley—Making Aviation Practical". Centennial of Flight Commission—History of Flight. American Aviation Historical Society. Retrieved September 2, 2019. Experiments that he began to carry out in 1804 allowed him to learn more about aerodynamics and wing structures using a whirling arm device. Cayley observed that birds soared long distances by simply twisting their arched wing surfaces and deduced that fixed-wing machines would fly if the wings were cambered. This was the first scientific testing of airfoils as the part of the aircraft that is designed to produce lift.

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