MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF AVIATION TECHNOLOGY

THEORY OF FLIGHT AND CONTROL

-WINGS-

Application of airfoil on wings

For a wing to produce "lift", it must be oriented at a suitable angle of attack relative to the flow of air past the wing. When this occurs the wing deflects the airflow downwards, "turning" the air as it passes the wing. Since the wing exerts a force on the air to change its direction, the air must exert a force on the wing, equal in size but opposite in direction. The lower air pressure on the top of the wing generates a smaller downward force on the top of the wing than the upward force generated by the higher air pressure on the bottom of the wing. Hence, a net upward force acts on the wing. This force is called the "lift" generated by the wing. The airfoil, with its long span and curved cross section, its blunt leading edge & sharp trailing edge, is an almost perfect instrument of pure sustentation

Factors that affect the sustentation of the aircraft :

Wingspan Planform Wing loading Aspect ratio Dihedral angle

Wingspan

The wingspan of an aircraft is always measured in a straight line, from wingtip to wingtip
The lift from wings is proportional to their area, so the heavier the aircraft the bigger that area must be. The area is the product of the span times the width of the wing, so either a long, narrow wing or a shorter, broader wing will support the same mass. For efficient steady flight, the aspect ratio, should be as high as because this lowers the liftinduced drag associated with the inevitable wingtip vortices. Alternatively, aircraft which depend on maneuverability need to be able to roll fast to turn, and the high moment of inertia of long narrow wings produces lower roll rates

Planform

Straight wing

Swept wing

Variable sweep wing

Delta wing (tailless)

Refers to the shape of the airplanes wing when viewed from above or below The straight wing is used on most light aircraft because it has a tendency to stall first at the root, providing adequate warning and aileron effectiveness

Wing loading
wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing The faster an aircraft flies, the more lift is produced by each unit area of wing, so a smaller wing can carry the same weight in level flight, operating at a higher wing loading The high wing loading also decreases maneuverability.

A highly loaded wing on a Lockheed F104 Starfighter.

EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE Wings generate lift owing to the motion of air over the wing surface. Larger wings move more air, so an aircraft with a large wing area relative to its mass will have more lift at any given speed. Therefore, an aircraft with lower wing loading will be able to take-off and land at a lower speed or be able to take off with a greater load. It will also be able to turn faster.

Dihedral Angle
Dihedral is added to the wings for roll stability; a wing with some dihedral will naturally return to its original position if it encounters a slight roll displacement.

Dihedral angle is the upward angle from horizontal of the wings or tailplane of a fix-wing aircraft. Dihedral angle has a strong influence on dihedral effect Dihedral effect is the amount of roll moment produced per degree of sideslip. Dihedral effect is a critical factor in the stability of an aircraft about the roll axis (the spiral mode). It is also pertinent to the nature of an aircraft's dutch roll oscillation and to maneuverability about the roll axis.

Dutch roll

Aspect ratio

Low aspect ratio wing (AR=5.6) of a Piper PA-28 Cherokee

High aspect ratio wing (AR=12.8) of the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400

the aspect ratio of a wing is essentially the ratio of its length to its breadth (chord). A high aspect ratio indicates long, narrow wings, whereas a low aspect ratio indicates short, stubby wings can be used to predict the aerodynamic performance of a wing. a high aspect-ratio wing will have a lower roll rate than one of low aspect ratio, because in a high-aspect-ratio wing, an equal amount of wing movement due to aileron deflection (at the aileron) will result in less rolling action on the fuselage due to the greater length between the aileron and the fuselage.