Flight Without Wings: Lift Comes in Many Forms

Olympic ski jumpers are all tip and no wing, so how do they do it?

Peter Garrison

Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Flight time may possibly be more affected by the rate at which ski jumpers slow down than by the rate at which they lose height. [Credit: U.S. Ski & Snowboard]

Key Takeaways:

The common explanation of ski jumping lift using the classic airfoil (Bernoulli's principle) is inaccurate because ski jumpers lack the necessary wingspan for two-dimensional airflow.
Ski jumpers generate lift primarily through impact pressure on their underside and the significant contribution of their V-shaped skis, where lift and drag are approximately equal.
Innovations in jumper stance and technique, such as the V-shape, have been more impactful in doubling flight distances than scientific studies alone.

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NBC accompanied its coverage of the ski jumping events at the Winter Olympics with a graphic showing, in profile view, a schematic ski jumper prone over their skis, with a row of bold arrows marching along a curved path above them and a second row passing in a straight line below.

It was the classic explanation of an airfoil—curved top, flat bottom, air goes faster over the top, Bernoulli, etc. It might have been cribbed from a high school physics textbook.