Wing Loading

Wing Area and Wing Loading

Wing loading is the relationship between the area of the wings and the all up wieght (AUW) of the plane. The wing loading determines the behaviour of the plane. Gliders have the lowest wing loading, Fighter jets have typically very high wing loading. The wing loading determines stall speed and other critical flight characteristics.

Common Wing Loading Ranges (g/dm²):

  • Gliders: <30 g/dm²
  • Trainers: 30-45 g/dm²
  • Aerobatic/Sport: 45-60 g/dm²
  • Speed/High Performance: >60 g/dm²

Calculating Wing Load

First the wing area in dm² (square decimetres) needs to be calculated. This is simple for rectangle wings such as the folded Armin wing.

  1. Measure the wing chord and wing span in centimetres.
  2. Calculate the area of the wing in cm².

\(\text{Area }(cm^{2})=\text{Span }(cm)\times \text{Chord }(cm)\).

  1. Convert result to dm² by dividing by 100.

e.g. \(1000 cm^{2}\div 100=10 dm^{2}\)

  1. Calculate wing loading.

\(\text{Wing Loading (g/dm}^{2}\text{)}= \frac{\text{Total Weight (g)}}{\text{Wing Area (dm}^{2}\text{)}}\)

Key Considerations: Total Area: Include the area of the wing inside the fuselage.

My Example Build

For my newest build the calculations were as follows:

  1. The wing has a total span of 140cm and a chord of 19cm
  2. The wing area in cm² is :

\(140\times19=2660cm^{2}\)

  1. The wing area in dm² is :

\(2660\div100=26.6dm^{2}\)

  1. My target AUW is 1000g. The wing loading in g/dm²

\(1000\div26.6=37.5g/dm^{2}\)

I also calculated a maximum and minimum AUW if I wish to stay in the range of a trainer plane (30-45g/dm²).

\(\text{Total Weight (g)}=\text{Wing Loading (g/dm}^{2}\text{)}\times \text{Wing Area (dm}^{2}\text{)}\)

Maximum weight is 1197g:

\(45\times26.6=1197g\)

Minimum weight is 798g:

\(30\times26.6=798g\)

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