In this Letter we discuss theoretically the instabilities of thermotropic f
reely standing smectic-A films under shear flow [3]. We show that, in Couet
te geometry, the centrifugal force;pushes the liquid crystal toward the out
er boundary and induces smectic layer dilation close to the outer boundary.
Under strong shear, this effect induces a layer buckling instability. The
critical shear rate is proportional to 1/root d, where d is the thickness o
f the film.