Questions tagged [wing]

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Why is a reduction in lift called 'drag'?

Induced drag is high pressure air 'leaking' to the upper part of the wing (low pressure zone) creating a vortex which means the area of the wing tip with the vortex can't create lift. Drag on the ...
Jessica Ham's user avatar
94 votes
15 answers
19k views

Are wings any more efficient at creating lift, versus orienting the engine's thrust downwards?

As I understood from this article, wings on an airplane basically create lift by pushing air down. Maintaining the lift force expends energy because air needs to be continually accelerated downwards. ...
user9037's user avatar
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64 votes
1 answer
30k views

What are the advantages of a Spinning Wing (Magnus Effect) and why haven't any been commercially produced?

What were the advantages and why was it never produced?
TesterMen Tester's user avatar
15 votes
4 answers
21k views

Are NACA airfoils used in modern aircraft design?

I know that NACA is famous for its ducts: Gratuitous Ferrari F-40 from Wikipedia. Mmmm... pretty... It is also well known for its airfoils, and many planes in the early years of aviation used NACA ...
FreeMan's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
3k views

Is there any application where the crescent wing would be the best wing planform?

To my knowledge the only aircraft featuring a crescent wing that was built in numbers was the Handley Page Victor. It seems that a crescent wing offers the possibility of a high subsonic/transonic ...
Brinn Belyea's user avatar
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10 votes
3 answers
9k views

What is that black pod on the left wing of a TBM?

What is the black pod on the left wing of a TBM? (Source)
TayE's user avatar
  • 6,595
10 votes
3 answers
37k views

How is a wing joined to the fuselage?

I've seen this video from Airbus: This is a capture from that video: What is the process for attaching the wings to the fuselage?
XF-91's user avatar
  • 2,096
9 votes
3 answers
24k views

What is the difference between a leading edge flap and a slat?

I always thought that the definition of slat was: "Lift modifying and adjustable wing element on the leading edge of main airfoil." and the definition of flap was: "Lift modifying and adustable ...
yippy_yay's user avatar
  • 7,365
7 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why do most commercial aircraft have their fuselage over the wing, instead of under? [duplicate]

Almost all commercial jets today seem to have the fuselage/cabin mounted above the wing, why is this? why isn't it mounted under the wing like some freight airplanes? Examples of above and under? ...
Skogsmard's user avatar
  • 201
4 votes
2 answers
10k views

What are these parts on the wing of a Boeing 737?

In the picture above: What are the parts numbered "1" and and "3"? Is "2" maybe the reinforcement of the pylon?
XF-91's user avatar
  • 2,096
3 votes
1 answer
6k views

What factors are included in the moment coefficient of a wing?

I am trying to make sure I correctly understand the moment coefficient. Both the lift and the drag coefficients vary with angle of attack and can be either positive, negative or zero. The moment ...
Brett Cooper's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Was the 737-300's wing an early supercritical wing?

I know that the 737 NG borrows the basic wing design of the 777, but I have also heard that BAC 4xx airfoil on the 737 classic (300/400/500) was an early supercritical aerofoil design? Is this true?
M.Pilate's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
1k views

How does the "pendulum effect" affect biplanes?

A high wing airplane will correct itself (lateral stability) when disturbed because its c.g. is below the c.p. (looking at the plane from it's side), according to this forum post and the book below. ...
Jessica Ham's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
3k views

How does wing aspect ratio influence lift and drag?

I know simmilar questions are all over the internet (and this website too), but there's one thing that i just cannot comprehend and none of the articles i read could explain it properly. According to ...
Youda008's user avatar
  • 113
32 votes
6 answers
12k views

Why is it rare for small aircraft to have winglets?

I've noticed that winglets are very rare on small aircraft. I wonder why this is the case. Wouldn't they have the same advantages, especially because they travel at low speed? Or is it just a wrong ...
André Stannek's user avatar
26 votes
3 answers
25k views

Why has the folding wing option of the Boeing 777 never been ordered?

The Boeing 777 has an optional folding wing mechanism to fit into tighter spaces, but it has never been ordered by airlines, according to Wikipedia. Why is this option so unpopular? Now with the ...
Ethan's user avatar
  • 9,349
24 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why is the wrong explanation of "air travels a longer distance and creates a lift" so popular?

When I was learning for my license, one of the first diagrams I remember was about the wing profile. The air going around the wing and on the upper side it has to travel a longer way, thus generating ...
Krumelur's user avatar
  • 1,331
17 votes
4 answers
15k views

Is wing flex good?

I've noticed that the wings of the 787 and A380 tend to flex a lot. Does wing flex help an aircraft in any way?
Madhav Sudarshan's user avatar
17 votes
4 answers
4k views

How would an Inverted Delta Wing planform behave, Straight part forward? Are there wings shaped this way?

There is info about straight edge wings, swept back wings, swept forward wings, delta wings. Is there also info about a Delta wing with a straight leading edge and a tapered trailing edge, the point ...
Urquiola's user avatar
  • 1,631
12 votes
2 answers
3k views

Can a supersonic plane use a subsonic wing if the nosecone shock produces subsonic airflow around the wing?

A supersonic plane will produce shock waves off the nose cone, as seen below: These oblique shocks reduce the speed of the air that the wing experiences. If the plane is at a low enough Mach number, ...
Gus's user avatar
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11 votes
5 answers
2k views

Why do wall-to-wall airfoils in wind tunnels produce no (or infinitesimal) downwash?

There are several induced drag explanations out there saying that tip/wake vortices “come from” downwash and downwash “comes from” lift. I’m using quotes because the concept is that there are no cause ...
user9251544's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
7k views

How is pitch controlled in a flying wing?

How do delta wing or flying wing aircraft maintain their pitch attitude in the absence of an elevator? I understand that the ailerons on the wings do control the banking/roll, but they are ...
Romi's user avatar
  • 103
10 votes
1 answer
4k views

Do airliners stall first at the wing tip?

One of the disadvantages of the sweepback aircraft is the tendency of a stall to occur at the wingtip first. Various high lift devices are added by design to the wings of the sweepback aircraft like ...
lemonincider's user avatar
  • 7,557
9 votes
2 answers
584 views

What specific improvements were made in supercritical airfoil design from 1980 - 2000?

I originally asked a question (Comparisons between the A340 and 747-200 wing: sweep angle and span) about the technological developments which allowed the Airbus A340 to have a wing with greater ...
interested22's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
9k views

Why is there a difference between aileron upwards and downwards deflection angles?

I have noticed that on airliners the ailerons have different angles if deflecting upwards than deflecting downwards. When deflected at the maximum angle maximum angle downwards is lower than when ...
Fabrizio Mazzoni's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
5k views

Can planes flap their wings like birds?

Birds use their strong breast muscles to flap their wings and give them the thrust to move throught the air and fly. In a way, birds use a swimming motion to get the lift needed to fly. Plane wings ...
anshabhi's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
6k views

Why are modern aircraft wings often pointed instead being more rectangular?

When viewed from the Z axis (above or below), why are modern aircraft wings often pointed as they get towards the wingtips instead of maintaining the same surface area for their entire length? This ...
End Anti-Semitic Hate's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
11k views

How to pick a good airfoil based on Cl and Cd

Let's assume I have 10 different airfoils graphs of Cl x Aoa, Cd x Aoa and Cl/Cd x Aoa. How do I pick the best one that will give me the most efficiency (the longest flight time)? I understand the ...
Samul's user avatar
  • 203
5 votes
2 answers
6k views

How can we design a wing for cruising at very low speeds?

I was thinking about a simple super-light aircraft powered with a little low-power piston engine. Is there any way that we can design a wing so the aircraft flies very slow (like 25 km/h as minimum ...
Mohsen's user avatar
  • 51
5 votes
3 answers
6k views

Why is the wing of large commercial jet aircraft usually located below the fuselage?

When the wing of an aircraft is located above the fuselage, the aircraft is generally considered more stable. When the wing of an aircraft is located below the majority of the fuselage, the aircraft ...
End Anti-Semitic Hate's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

What is the effect of airflow speed on separation?

We know that in real viscous flow, boundary layer exists around the airfoil and there will be a separation point which flow starts to separate from the back of the airfoil( velocity gradient equal ...
Hanzhi Zhang's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
8k views

What is boundary layer, exactly?

I read a lot about boundary layer but I don't know exactly what boundary layer is yet.
MajidMozafari's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
2k views

Are high lift wings bad for faster speeds

I notice a trend in many aircraft designs. If the aircraft was designed to go slowly but have shorter takeoffs/landings they use airfoils with a high lift. However for long endurance flights they use ...
YAHsaves's user avatar
  • 1,211
4 votes
3 answers
24k views

How does the aspect ratio of a wing impact its lift?

The wing lift formula shows that lift of a wing is proportional to its area. $ L = {\dfrac 1 2 \times \rho V^2 \color{magenta}S C_L} {\small \begin{align} &{} &&\text{where:} &&L =...
skanga's user avatar
  • 165
2 votes
3 answers
3k views

What is the "Centre of Pressure"?

This question may sound naive but surprisingly it puzzles me. A wing has a centre of pressure, does it mean that lift acts on point and not on the whole chord of an airfoil?
David Teahay's user avatar
  • 2,885
2 votes
3 answers
6k views

What are some advantages and disadvantages of have the wing on top of the airplane? [duplicate]

Most commercial airplanes have the wings on the bottom of the aircraft to lift the body better, but what about the sugar volt concept that has the wing on the top
Ethan's user avatar
  • 9,349
45 votes
2 answers
2k views

Is the visual artifact seen over the wing from different air densities, a reflection or something else?

I have noticed a strange visual artifact over the wing of a Boeing yesterday. You can see two manifestations of the artifact in the pictures below. The first shows it at the front edge of the wing. ...
Lukas_Skywalker's user avatar
26 votes
2 answers
12k views

What is the purpose of the small fins on top of the wing surface of Boeing aircraft?

I've noticed on most Boeing aircraft that there are small fins on the upper surface of many of their wings. They are about one inch high and maybe two inches long (it's difficult to judge size from ...
BillDOe's user avatar
  • 1,624
26 votes
3 answers
7k views

What is this part which is mounted on the wing of Embraer ERJ-145?

Take a look at the yellow parts which are mounted on the wing of an Embraer ERJ-145. What is it? Two closer images: From bottom:
Roh's user avatar
  • 3,317
20 votes
4 answers
19k views

What is the difference between the Maximum Glide and Minimum Sink ratios?

In this comment a brief explanation is made of the differences between Max Glide Ratio and Min Sink Ratio: Sink rate is how much altitude you lose over time, for example, how many feet per second. ...
FreeMan's user avatar
  • 16.2k
19 votes
5 answers
4k views

What does the zig-zag pattern on Hawker Hunter's leading edge represent?

On some Hawker Hunters, there is a zig-zag on the leading edge of the wing, as shown below. Why do only some Hawker Hunters have this feature, and what is it for?
flyingfisch's user avatar
  • 14.5k
18 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why are there so few aircraft that had inhabited wings?

According to an answer by John Frazer The only successful plane with inhabited wing might have been the Ju-38 Is this true? In the whole history of aviation there was only one aeroplane with ...
Squareoot's user avatar
  • 1,654
18 votes
1 answer
13k views

What is this hole on the left wing of the Eurofighter Typhoon?

I came across the picture below and saw the hole near the centerline on the left which appears to have some carbon next to it. What is its purpose and where does the carbon come from?
user19440's user avatar
  • 1,075
14 votes
4 answers
3k views

How are wing tanks sealed around the internal wing structure?

I can easily grasp the idea of tanks of fuel inside the fuselage of an aircraft, and the ease of sealing such tanks in a relatively standard shape. However, I'm having a hard time understanding how ...
Milwrdfan's user avatar
  • 1,789
13 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why do the outer parts of wings generate less lift?

In this Wikipedia page it says: Constant chord: parallel leading & trailing edges. Simplest to make, and common where low cost is important, e.g. in the Piper J-3 Cub but inefficient as the ...
ayomeer's user avatar
  • 131
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

How have engineers managed to increase commercial airliner wing aspect ratios over time?

Over time, the wing aspect ratios of commercial airliners have increased. For evidence ,see the following data: 1980s: Boeing 747-400: 7.91, Boeing 757-200: 8.0 Boeing 767-300: 8.0 Airbus A310: 8.8 ...
interested22's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
835 views

How does the wraparound wing design reduce drag?

How does the wraparound wing in this AOPA article reduce drag? One would think all that extra leading edge and surface area would make it worse. One more link also. The Parsifal Project has ...
CrossRoads's user avatar
  • 8,795
7 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is induced drag caused because of the tilt of the wing backwards?

In this question: Why is induced drag less on a high span wing? In the answer it was stated that wing tip vortices do not cause induced drag. If this is the case then what causes the induced drag. ...
Crafterguy's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
3k views

How are wood and canvas wings able to sustain damp and bad weather?

Small aircraft have used and still use at least for wings, and perhaps for fuselage, material like wood and canvas, as visible on the bottom side of this wing: Robin DR400, source: aeroVFR Which ...
mins's user avatar
  • 72.4k
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why did Concorde have a large anhedral?

Why does Concorde and many other deltas have their wings bent down?
Mridul's user avatar
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