U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission home page
Separation points at different angles of attack

This figure shows an airfoil whose angle of attack is being raised from 0øto past the stall angle of attack. Below the stall angle, the separation points on the airfoil move forward slowly but remain relatively close to the trailing edge. Near the stall angle, the separation points move rapidly forward and the pressure drag rises abruptly. Past the stall angle, the effect of the greatly increased separated flow is to decrease the lift.

Credits - NASA