RCU Forums - View Single Post - weight vs. drag
View Single Post
Old 06-18-2008 | 10:14 PM
  #2  
rgunder
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 253
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
From: San Marcos, CA
Default RE: weight vs. drag


ORIGINAL: 1fasthitman

If we could compare apples to apples, what is more difficult to overcome, weight or aerodynamic drag?
Both play large roles in the flight performance of an airplane. So it depends on how you measure the impact. What I mean by that is it depends on whether you are talking about performance in terms of climb rate, top airspeed, takeoff distance, landing speed, or some other quantity. It also depends on how much margin you had in terms of excess thrust (to overcome drag) or excess lifting capability (to overcome weight) to begin with.

As it is stated, I don't think there is a clear answer to your question. What type of plane are we talking about here?

Cheers,

Rich