Angle between the oncoming airflow and the chord line of the wing. The chord line is an imaginary straight line that connects the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing. The angle of attack is a critical parameter that describes how the wing interacts with the air.
- αw: Angle of attack of the wing or airfoil.
- Clw: Lift coefficient of the wing or airfoil, which represents the lift generated by the wing for a given angle of attack.
- CLαw: The slope of the lift coefficient curve with respect to angle of attack, often referred to as the lift curve slope.
- α0Lw: The angle of attack at which the wing or airfoil generates zero lift (i.e., the angle of attack at which the lift coefficient is zero).