Angle of attack , aspect ratio , and the wing ' s camber topbottom profile asymmetry all contribute to the lift or downforce . If angle of attack was the only thing that mattered , why aren ' t airplane wings just simple flat boards or a symmetrical teardrop profile with some angle to them ? A zero angle of attack will create lift or downforce if the wing has camber to it , and wings are cambered because there is some benefit in terms of lift to drag ratio compared to a symmetrical wing that relies solely on a higher angle of attack to make lift . Maybe the Bernoulli principle is an over simplification it doesn ' t take into account viscosity or friction , I believe , but pressure differential is just as effective as using the angle of attack to push air upwards or downwards . The ideal wing has some combination of bothCoefficient of lift for cambered vs non cambered wing at various attack angles