britbrat - i stand corrected. your logic is impeccable for symmetrical planes where wings do not have any inherent lift built in them. But for asymetrical or the extreme flat bottom wings, i believe that the dihedral helps to decrease their efficiency without increasing drag. for example, on a trainer, you would have to apply down elevator to keep it level otherwise it will continue to rise. taking out the dihedral would create even more lift but lift does not equal forward speed. but of course, this is only applicable for planes that have asymmetrical more power than it needs to maintain a level cruise. the optimum would then be to dial in as much dihedral as it takes so that the wings create enough lift for level flight at full throttle while maintaining the smallest AOA. britbrat... i know what you're thinking ("i'll have some of whatever HE's smoking..."