A flexible elastic disk is rotating at constant angular velocity in close proximity to a stationary baseplate. Such a configuration can be used to stabilize the flexible medium in magnetic and/or optical recording applications. The influence of coupling between in-plane displacements and transverse deflections is investigated. The effects of bending stiffness and of the air flow between the disk and the backplate are also included. Solutions of the nonlinear differential equations are obtained using finite difference approximations and an iterative approach. The results for this reference configuration are the transverse deflections, the air film pressure, and the displacement-induced membrane state. The significance of coupling is assessed. The governing equations of the disk and of the air film are then linearized about the reference configuration and a measure of the disk stiffness is determined. Comparisons are made with another model which uses an elastic foundation parameter in order to represent the air film.Presented as a Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers paper at the ASME/STLE Tribology Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 8–10, 1990