Starting vortex
![A starting vortex behind a wing profile, made visible by plotting pressure distribution in a CFD simulation.](/Images/godic/202502/13/Pressure_distribution_around_flapped_profile_with_starting_vortex2055.png")
The starting vortex is a vortex which forms in the air adjacent to the trailing edge of an airfoil as it is accelerated from rest in a fluid. It leaves the airfoil (which now has an equal but opposite "bound vortex" around it), and remains (nearly) stationary in the flow. It rapidly decays through the action of viscosity.