One of the most influential cockpit levers on a jet’s take-off is the flap handle. Hinged panels at the wing’s trailing and leading edges transform a sleek airfoil into a low-speed lift sail.

Question: If flaps don’t increase lift, then why is a small amount of flaps used in soft-field takeoffs for some aircraft? Answer: Who said flaps don’t increase lift? Flaps do increase lift. Reference ...

A: Flaps (and slats) increase the lift that the wing can produce at a lower speed. To keep the takeoff and landing speeds as low as possible, the design engineers include highly efficient flaps (and ...

— -- Question: On a recent flight from IAD to LAX, our flight attendant announced that the plane's flaps were not functioning and asked the passengers to assume an emergency position for landing.

On a warm summer morning at Princeton University, aerospace engineer Aimy Wissa was at the university helipad, preparing to fly a remote-controlled plane. But this wasn’t just any model aircraft.

There's no denying that NASCAR cars go fast — sometimes too fast. Some of the most shocking moments during the race come when a car lifts off the track, becoming airborne before dangerously hitting ...

Gen-6 cars took damage at Preseason Thunder crash, but no tires left the ground CONCORD, N.C. — Aric Almirola didn’t immediately feel his car decelerate. He didn’t hear the flaps deploy on the roof of ...

Mud flaps are something fleets probably don’t pay a lot of attention to, especially when it comes to fuel economy, and tend to focus on bigger things like tractor and trailer aerodynamic devices and ...

Since the first cars hit the road over a century ago, they've undergone a drastic transformation. Internally, they're capable of going faster, utilizing heating and cooling technology to keep ...