I briefly talked to an aerospace engineer about tappering the wing on a plane with a small chord (about 9inches)

He told me that tapering does not have any effect on induced drag when the chord is small (i think he said under 12 inches) so a rectangular wing would be just as efficient.

However i have not been able to find any documentation supporting this.

So, does tappering have any effect on wings with small chords? Please direct me to some documentation that will explain this.


I am currently an aerospace engineering student, so i know all about the effects of drag, and tapering on a large scale.

And the reason i am asking is becasue i am on a team that designs a small model airplane.