How do you calculate aspect ratio of a wing?

How do you calculate aspect ratio of a wing?

The Aspect Ratio of a wing is defined to be the square of the span divided by the wing area and is given the symbol AR. For a rectangular wing, this reduces to the ratio of the span to the chord length as shown at the upper right of the figure.

How do you calculate wing loading area?

The relationship between wing area and body weight is given in kilograms per square metre (or grams per square centimetre). To calculate wing loading, divide the mass of the bird or plane by the total area of the upper surface of its wings: wing loading = body mass (kg)/wing area (m2).

How is the aspect ratio of a wing calculated?

Aspect ratio is a measure of the ratio between the span of the wing to its chord. In most cases the wing chord is not equal along the length of the span (untapered) which is why aspect ratio is most commonly calculated by dividing the square of the wing span by the reference wing area.

Why does an aircraft have a higher aspect ratio?

The first is that the higher the aspect ratio, the greater the wing span for a constant wing area. The wing is responsible for generating the lift force that keeps the aircraft in the air and a higher aspect ratio results in a heavier wing as the structure must be beefed up to carry the additional bending moment that the longer span induces.

How does the aspect ratio affect the lift coefficient?

The lift coefficient is increased by increasing the angle of attack of the wing or changing the wing curvature by deploying flaps like you see during landing. You will also notice that the magnitude of the lift-induced drag is inversely proportional to the aspect ratio. Therefore as the aspect ratio increases, so the lift induced drag decreases.

What is the aspect ratio of a Cessna 172?

Both wings are fairly conventional with some taper and little or no sweep. This provides a clear example of the effect that aspect ratio has on the appearance of the wing. The Cessna 172 wing has an aspect ratio of 7.32 while the Dash 8 has a much higher aspect ratio of 12.78.