I'm a student going through the King Schools DVD's. He tells the story of a pilot who took off at Lake Tahoe on a hot day and became airborne at a lower speed than he should have with all things considered. The assumption is that ground effect allowed him to fly at a lower speed than would be possible out of ground effect. Story is he flew into a tree at the end of the runway. My question is this: Why wasn't he able to gain speed just because he's in the air? Isn't his drag less than while on the ground? He should still be able to accelerate, right? Not sure what I'm missing. I'm wondering if it has to do with angle of attack? Thanks, Craig