FG S N HINGS THAT KEEPS US IN THE AIR Airplanes are one of the most amazing devices on Earth. They are, quite literally, ships of the air—although they move through a fluid rather than floating on a fluid. That being the case, airplanes could actually be considered to be “submarines of the air” because of the way in which they effortlessly (more or less) slither through their chosen medium and are capable of three-dimensional movement at will. Like a submarine, they depend on only a few very basic physical laws to stay “afloat” and go where their masters direct them. One of those physical factors, which applies to so many aspects of the controls and lifting surfaces, is camber, or the curve that is built into each surface. » By Budd Davisson PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE FIZER MAY 2011 FLIGHT TRAINING / 25