MadSci Network: Physics |
My question is: what would happen if we modified a wing, lets say that it is rectangular and 20ft in wingSpan and 4ft in width (leading to trailing edge) and stretched the width of the wing so now it was 20ft by 14ft now. But without changing the thickness (the chamber) stretched from behind the thickest part of the wing. Would this affect lift or drag in any way? If it increases lift and I guess that would increase the drag as well, then in theory you can shorten the wingSpan to have the same amount of lift as before. Or? Do you have to increase the Chamber/thickness of the wing in order to increase the lift? is there a ratio that has to be followed? Examples of flying wings and lifting bodies seem to point to a thick wing/surface. http://www.wmof.com/9709e.jpg http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/Frederick2000/B2/Closeup/index.html or the Northrop N9M-B Flying Wing or Burnelli's flying wedge type designs. Can it be as broad in width but not as thick? The B2 doesn't look as thick but for its size I assume that its quite chunky as well. So if I really wanted to have a broad wing surface is there any advantage or disadvantage to stretching the wing from its thickest point back (trailing edge) even if it doesn't create more lift? Can it for instance reduce lift and increase drag or have any other unwanted side effects etc? loosing sleep ... must know! Thank you for your time (I hope this made some sense) Matt K
Re: how does surface area affect lift on a wing? Broad wing vs long wing
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