How does wing size affect flight?

How does wing size affect flight?

Larger wings move more air, so a bird or plane with a large wing area relative to its mass (low wing loading) will have more lift at any given speed. Therefore, a plane with lower wing loading will be able to take off and land at a lower speed (or be able to take off with a greater load).

How does wing area affect lift?

The airfoil shape and wing size will both affect the amount of lift. The ratio of the wing span to the wing area also affects the amount of lift generated by a wing. The lift then depends on the velocity of the air and how the object is inclined to the flow. Air: Lift depends on the mass of the flow.

Is wing loading constant?

Like stall speed, wing and power loading values are not constant and change with flight conditions.

How are wing loading RC planes calculated?

This is calculated by taking the weight of the plane and dividing by the wing area. A good rule of thumb is for a 40 size trainer one would expect a wing loading of about 16oz/sq ft and will be a docile flier.

Is higher or lower wing loading better?

The faster an aircraft flies, the more lift can be produced by each unit of wing area, so a smaller wing can carry the same mass in level flight. Consequently, faster aircraft generally have higher wing loadings than slower aircraft. A higher wing loading also decreases maneuverability.

What is wing cubic loading?

Wing loading (WL) is a direct measure of mass over wing size. Cubic wing loading (CWL) is derived from dimensional analysis by taking mass and size properties into consideration together. Dimensional analysis is based on the idea that unit length (l) is proportional to the power of one-third of the mass (m).

What happens to an aircraft with high wing loading?

Compared to aircraft with much higher wing loading, these aircraft are airborne at lower airspeeds and in shorter runway takeoff distances, tend to float on landing if speed is too great and are more affected by crosswinds at lower airspeeds.

Is it good to use low wing loading?

One solution is to use low wing loadings but this leads to large wing surfaces and, because skin friction actually drives the high-speed cruise performance of slender vehicles, this approach tends to be counter-productive.

How does wing loading affect the stall speed?

As you have correctly cited in your OP, a large wing loading inversely affects performance, this includes takeoff performance and turning performance, all due to increased stall speed. Assuming a constant maximum lift coefficient, the larger the wing loading, the higher the stall speed:

How does a blended fuselage reduce wing loading?

A blended wing-fuselage design such as that found on the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon or Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum helps to reduce wing loading; in such a design the fuselage generates aerodynamic lift, thus improving wing loading while maintaining high performance.