rtn9105

My Feedback: (35)

Can anyone tell me how to figure out what the wing area and the wing loading is on a plane?

Thanks

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

Miltiply wing span by wing chord, in inches. This is the wing area.

Divide wing area (square inches) by 144. This is wing area in square feet.

Weigh complete airplane in ounces.

Divide weight in ounces by wing area in square feet.

This is wing loading in ounces per square foot.

Ed_Moorman

My Feedback: (1)

WING AREA: For a constant chord wing, it's span times chord. For a tapered wing, add the tip chord to the root chord and divide by 2. Multiply this by the span for the area in square inches.

WING LOADING: You'll need the wing area in square inches, which is the usual way we figure it. You'll also need the weight in pounds, like 6.5 lbs. Multiply the weight in pounds by 2304 and divide by the area in square inches. The result is in ounces per square foot, our usual units.

The 2304 comes from the conversions for square inches to square feet and pounds to ounces. 2300 is a close approximation. If you need a memory key, think Super Tigre 2300. Multiply pounds by the big ST engine and divide by area. Hey, it works.

Example, weight is 6.5 lbs and area is 700. 6.5 times 2304 is 14,976. Divide by 700 = 21.39 oz/sq ft wing loading