Aircraft lift is commonly explained using pressure differences, Bernoulli-type arguments, or circulation-based models. However, these explanations are typically presented independently and do not identify a directly testable primary observable that determines lift. In this work, we introduce a synthetic observational framework in which lift is formulated as the downward momentum flux in the wake of a lifting surface. We construct CFD-like datasets consisting of wake-plane velocity fields, pressure-tap distributions, and force-balance measurements with realistic noise characteristics. Across synthetic observational runs, we demonstrate a near-linear relationship between observed lift and wake momentum flux (correlation r ≈ 0.999), providing a direct and falsifiable connection between measurable wake structure and aerodynamic force. We show that pressure differences and circulation are not independent causes of lift, but secondary representations of a single underlying process: structured momentum redistribution in a continuous flow field. This establishes a testable hierarchy: wake momentum → pressure, circulation Any theory that does not reproduce this ordering fails to provide a complete physical description of lift. This work provides a minimal, reproducible, and falsifiable framework for understanding lift generation.
Koji Okino (Sat,) studied this question.