Back to the drawing-board

So we've all be misled all these years, have we?  We've always been told that aircraft fly because the air flowing over the top of wing has to travel further than the air flowing under the wing, and hence travels faster, and therefore the air pressure on top of the wing is less than that under the wing - and this produces lift which keeps the thing in the air.  It now appears that we have been confusing cause and effect.  The air pressure on top of the wing is indeed lower than that under the wing, but this has nothing to do with how far the air has to travel - it's simply that the shape of the wing - the so-called aerofoil shape - creates this pressure difference.  Air at a lower pressure moves faster, so the fact that the air on top of the wing moves faster is an effect, not a cause.