Effects of a wider wing?
 

I think I already know part of the answer to this question, but I feel like I'm overlooking something.

As some of you know from a previous post, I dumped a plane into the top of a pine tree last sunday. The plane is being rebuilt by the instructor right now. However, the wing is still up in the tree *they just got the fuselage down - the wing was hung on a branch and stuck. So what he's going to do is this: The plane is a Tower Trainer 60 w/ .60 OS engine and a 69.5" wingspan (originally). He's going to replace it with an UltraKote wing of the same length, but with a wider width and larger ailerons. How is this going to affect the flight characteristics? (aside from larger ailerons = less throw to get the same results)

Instinctively, I know that a wider wing is going to give it a much slower stall speed, a better glide slope, and more lift, but what am I missing? I think it's also going to fly a little slower and may be more suceptible to cross winds or gusts. Am I right? What are going to be some of the other side-effects?

I'm really curious as to how this new incarnation is going to fly.

RE: Effects of a wider wing?
 

I'll bet it turns out great if this guy executes the idea right.

RE: Effects of a wider wing?
 

you won't notice that much of a difference in drag......I bet it'll be fun to fly

RE: Effects of a wider wing?
 

We did that very thing! It was on a Kadet Sr. Of course, the engine got bigger also. I LOVE the way it flies. The Kadet is known for being a floater and this only helped. We moved the trailing edge of the wing back about 1.5 inches and the plane is still quite stable and I don't know if it even knows what the word "stall" means. :D

Here's a vid of my plane in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE7nbyg-gh0

I"m also building another Senior with even more wing and changing around the tail feathers quite a bit. Link is below.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7589439/tm.htm

Hope it helps

RE: Effects of a wider wing?
 

That's a good question. I wondered the same thing. The "wide" winged planes I've flown do seem like they have an especially slow stall speed. It seems the wider the wing the more lift. I think of it as free lift because your adding area without adding drag.

BUT, that doesn't explain why sailplanes use a huge wingspan narrow wing!? Given the above thought, it'd seem like my 2m Spirit would have a hugely wide wing but a moderate length for the most efficient lift (less drag). I dunno. I do know that the 2m Spirit has a crawling stall speed though.

Maybe I'll ask in the glider forum. I think there's an aerodynamic forum too.

RE: Effects of a wider wing?
 

no you are adding drag just not that much....

RE: Effects of a wider wing?
 

Same airfoil? That will make as much if not more difference than span/chord.

Had a hard time figuring out what was going on here. Maybe we can start with clearing up some terms. Wings are measured by span and chord, not length and width. The span is the distance from tip to tip. The chord is the distance from the leading edge (LE) to the trailing edge (TE). If I understand, you will be increasing the chord?

This will have several effects, but most won’t be noticeable unless the change in chord was significant. It is hard to know what it will do in flight without more info, but most likely it will have more drag (due to increased wing size) a worse glide ratio (again due to increased wing size), a slower stall (due to increased efficiency from longer chord) and less pitch stability (due to increased wing area.) But again, what are we talking, like a increase of 1-2” in chord on a wing that was already 10-12” or so? You won’t see much diff in that increase unless you changed airfoil.

Spiral Stall speed has little to do with the span of the wing. It is primarily a characteristic of the airfoil and wing loading. The high aspect ratio (large span short chord) is to improve lift/drag ratios.