If the maximum lift coefficient is exceeded, lift decreases rapidly and the wing stalls. Which option describes what happens to lift?

• A. Increases
• B. Remains the same
• C. Oscillates
• D. Decreases

Answer: (D)

When the wing reaches the critical angle of attack, airflow can no longer hug the wing surface and separates from it. This flow separation greatly reduces the wing’s ability to generate lift, so the lift coefficient falls. Since lift is proportional to the lift coefficient (L = 1/2 ρ V^2 S CL), a drop in CL means lift decreases even if speed and wing area remain the same. This is the essence of a stall: lift drops off rapidly as the wing can no longer produce the same force. The other ideas—lift increasing, staying the same, or oscillating—don’t describe what happens once past the maximum lift coefficient, so the correct description is that lift decreases.