Return to Answer

You must have heard wrong. Clipping wings is done to reach higher maximum speed.

You mention light sport aircraft, so I assume they have propellers driven by piston engines. This means their power output is constant over speed and the thrust is inverse with speed. To calculate their optimum cruise speed, you can use the venerable Breguet equation which shows that the aircraft has to fly at its optimum L/D for maximum range. At this speed, induced drag equals zero-lift drag, and span helps to cut down the former. Clipping the wing will shift the optimum cruise speed up, not down.

With clipped wings the aircraft has less surface area, which will reduce zero-lift drag. This is the drag component which determines maximum speed. Induced drag will go up, but it is insignificant at maximum speed, so the aircraft will be able to fly slightly faster.

You must have heard wrong. Clipping wings is done to reach higher maximum speed.

You mention light sport aircraft, so I assume they have propellers driven by piston engines. This means their power output is constant over speed and the thrust is inverse with speed. To calculate their optimum cruise speed, you can use the venerable Breguet equation which shows that the aircraft has to fly at its optimum L/D for maximum range. At this speed, induced drag equals zero-lift drag, and span helps to cut down the former. Clipping the wing will shift the optimum cruise speed up, not down.

With clipped wings the aircraft has less surface area, which will reduce zero-lift drag. This is the drag component which determines maximum speed. Induced drag at a given speed will go up, but it is insignificant at maximum speed, so the aircraft will be able to fly slightly faster.

You must have heard wrong. Clipping wings is done to reach higher maximum speed.

You mention light sport aircraft, so I assume they have propellers driven by piston engines. This means their power output is constant over speed and the thrust is inverse with speed. To calculate their optimum cruise speed, you can use the venerable Breguet equation which shows that the aircraft has to fly at its optimum L/D for maximum range. At this speed, induced drag equals zero-lift drag, and span helps to cut down the former. Clipping the wing will shift the optimum cruise speed up, not down.

With clipped wings the aircraft has less surface area, which will reduce zero-lift drag. This is the drag component which determines maximum speed. Induced drag will go up, but it is insignificant at maximum speed, so the aircraft will be able to fly slightly faster.

You must have heard wrong. Clipping wings is done to reach higher maximum speed.

You mention light sport aircraft, so I assume they have propellers driven by piston engines. This means their power output is constant over speed and the thrust is inverse with speed. To calculate their optimum cruise speed, you can use the venerable Breguet equation which shows that the aircraft has to fly at its optimum L/D for maximum range. At this speed, induced drag equals zero-lift drag, and span helps to cut down the former. Clipping the wing will shift the optimum cruise speed up, not down.

With clipped wings the aircraft has less surface area, which will reduce zero-lift drag. This is the drag component which determines maximum speed. Induced drag will go up, but it is insignificant at maximum speed, so the aircraft will be able to fly slightly faster.

You must have heard wrong. Clipping wings is done to reach higher maximum speed.

You mention light sport aircraft, so I assume they have propellers driven by piston engines. This means their power output is constant over speed and the thrust is inverse with speed. To calculate their optimum cruise speed, you can use the venerable Breguet equation which shows that the aircraft has to fly at its optimum L/D for maximum range. At this speed, induced drag equals zero-lift drag, and span helps to cut down the former. Clipping the wing will shift the optimum cruise speed up, not down.

With clipped wings the aircraft has less surface area, which will reduce zero-lift drag at maximum speed. Induced drag will go up, but it is insignificant at maximum speed, so the aircraft will be able to fly slightly faster.

You must have heard wrong. Clipping wings is done to reach higher maximum speed.

You mention light sport aircraft, so I assume they have propellers driven by piston engines. This means their power output is constant over speed and the thrust is inverse with speed. To calculate their optimum cruise speed, you can use the venerable Breguet equation which shows that the aircraft has to fly at its optimum L/D for maximum range. At this speed, induced drag equals zero-lift drag, and span helps to cut down the former. Clipping the wing will shift the optimum cruise speed up, not down.

With clipped wings the aircraft has less surface area, which will reduce zero-lift drag. This is the drag component which determines maximum speed. Induced drag will go up, but it is insignificant at maximum speed, so the aircraft will be able to fly slightly faster.