ORIGINAL: BaldEagel
Yes Really, lift will only equal weight in equilibrium i.e. not descending or ascending.
Mike
Wrong, just plain wrong ! Sorry.
The total lift when established in a steady descent exactly equals weight.
TOTAL lift is that produced by the wing AND the vertical component of drag, which is the value of the drag multiplied by the sine of the descent angle. In a typical descent. 5 degrees or so, this value is negligible as the sine of 5 is about 0. 05
Regards,
David.