I've got a potentially inflammatory question. :D

When explaining "how a wing creates lift", is it useful to mention Bernoulli's principle at all?

I like to think I have a decent understanding of how an airfoil works. Not enough for being an aerodynamics engineer or something, but enough for being a pilot.

For me, personally, Bernoulli's principle is a blind alley of explanation.

Why is there lower pressure on the top surface of the airfoil? Because the air accelerates as it enters that region.

Why does the air accelerate as it enters that region? Because...

The only explanation I can think of is "because there is lower pressure in that region".

@TannerSwett That makes sense for regions where air has been displaced by the wing. But that doesn’t explain the suction peak that’s just above the leading edge. The only reason pressure can be lower there is because it’s being accelerated.

That’s the lowest pressure anywhere around the wing, so it contributes the greatest portion of lift.

@TannerSwett Someone asked a question about velocity around the airfoil. It's not the same as what you're asking here, but maybe the answers will give us some insight, because I don't think assumption that "the horizonatal velocity of the air flow is constant throughout the chord" is correct.

He also brings up something that has been puzzling me. At the leading edge, the air is being accelerated, which Bernoulli shows that the pressure will be lower, resulting in upward force. But by the "flow turning" explanation of lift favored by NASA seems like it doesn't quite work. At that point on the wing the flow turning is in an upward direction, which should result in a downward force on the front of the wing. Something seems amiss.