During the transition from straight-and-level flight to a climb, the angle of attack is increased and lift is momentarily increased.

• A. The angle of attack decreases and lift decreases.
• B. The angle of attack is increased and lift is momentarily increased.
• C. The angle of attack remains unchanged and lift remains unchanged.
• D. The thrust must be reduced during the transition to climb.

Answer: (A)

When you transition from straight-and-level to a climb, you pull the nose up, increasing the angle of attack. Lift rises with angle of attack in the normal flight regime, because the lift coefficient increases as you tilt the wing more into the airstream (up to the point just before stall). That rise in lift provides the extra upward force needed to begin climbing, so you experience a momentary increase in lift as the airplane starts to depart level flight.

Thrust adjustments aren’t required for the initial transition, and keeping the angle of attack the same or reducing it would not produce a climb. So the key idea is that pitching up to start the climb raises the angle of attack, which increases lift temporarily to support the climb.