Airfoil geometry and how a wing actually generates lift, the lift equation and lift coefficient, angle of attack and stall, and the two physically distinct sources of drag.
This module builds the aerodynamic foundation Module 1's four-forces model assumed but did not derive: how an airfoil's shape and angle of attack translate into the lift equation's L = ½ρV²SC_L, why lift is capped at a maximum coefficient that defines stall, and why drag splits into two components — parasite and induced — that behave in opposite ways as airspeed changes.
By the end of this module you should be able to explain why total drag has a single minimum at one specific airspeed rather than rising or falling monotonically with speed — the L/D max point that governs best glide speed and cruise range, and the concept Module 3's compressible-flow content and Module 9's performance content both build directly on.