Le Chaud Lapin wrote:
Most importantly, I also notice that there was a ***HUGE***
amount of hand-waving going on, far more than one would expect in a
field that has been researched for over a century. I still need to
find a book that I can trust.

How much math are you willing to deal with?
If you can handle some calculus, then probably the least expensive book I
know of that may fit the bill is:

"Theoretical Aerodynamics" by L. M. Milne-Thomson.
Paperback edition is available from Dover Press.

I went to the WWW and started reading more aero-astro excerpts, and
concluded that not only is theory still in flux, the experts do not
even agree on the basics. The very basics. Huge amounts of money had
been spent on wind-tunnels. But after all that, I could not get two
experts to agree on the basics. And this was a not simply a matter of
different styles, using integral instead of differential form of
equations, for example, or, deciding where to put a constant, as we
electrical engineers do in our expressions of the Fourier
integrals...there was *fundamental* disgreement about what causes lift
on an airplane.

I have no idea what web sites you have visited - all I can say is that
there is _no_ dispute among experts on the very basics. Aerodynamic
models are now run routinely on computers - the field is known as
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) - which would hardly be possible if
the very basics were still in dispute!

I asked one of the pilot's again..."How sure are you that the aviation
world understands the basics?" He said he was very sure. He started
rattling off things about NASA.

NASA is an excellent and authoritative source and you'll be very pleased
to discover they have web pages that address the VERY SAME COMPLAINTS you
have about many of the bogus explanations of lift that are floating
around. Here are two of the most relevant pages you should read:

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/bernnew.html

Excerpt from the above:
"Arguments arise because people mis-apply Bernoulli and Newton's
equations and because they over-simplify the description of the problem
of aerodynamic lift. The most popular incorrect theory of lift arises
from a mis-application of Bernoulli's equation."

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/wrong1.html

Excerpt from the above:
"There are many theories of how lift is generated. Unfortunately, many of
the theories found in encyclopedias, on web sites, and even in some
textbooks are incorrect, causing unnecessary confusion for students.

The theory described on this slide is one of the most widely circulated,
incorrect explanations. The theory can be labeled the "Longer Path"
theory, or the "Equal Transit Time" theory."


So I started imagining, with no mathematics, what goes on with fluids
around surfaces, which lead me to these various experiments.

It is a great idea to experiment - even with things others already
understand. I do it too.

If you are interested in some books on the subject I'd be happy to
make some suggestions.

Sure.

In addition to the above, there are a couple of other (expensive, alas)
books I would suggest:

"Introduction to Flight" by John D. Anderson, Jr.
Contains a history of the science of flight and also goes into details on
some of the more common mistakes people make in explanations of lift. I
do not own this book, but others also give it great reviews.

"Fundamentals of Aerodynamics" by John D. Anderson, Jr.
A well regarded, though mathematical, text on the subject. I do not own
this book either, but I expect it is good, based on my knowledge of the
next book I mention:

"Computational Fluid Dynamics" By John D. Anderson.
I bought and read through this book a couple years ago and it does a
great job of introducing CFD. I mention it here only because it is how I
know the style and quality of Anderson's writing to confidently recommend
two of his other books (above) that I have not read! He carefully disects
and explains each of the differential equations of the various types used
for computational modeling, among the many things covered.