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Aspect ratio (aeronautics) An ASH 31 glider with very high aspect ratio (AR=33.5) and lift-to-drag ratio (L/D=56) In aeronautics, the aspect ratio of a wing is the ratio of its span to its mean chord. It is equal to the square of the wingspan divided by the wing area. Thus, a long, narrow wing has a high aspect ratio, whereas a short, wide wing ...
It is measured empirically by testing in a wind tunnel or in free flight test. [1] [2] [3] The L/D ratio is affected by both the form drag of the body and by the induced drag associated with creating a lifting force. It depends principally on the lift and drag coefficients, angle of attack to the airflow and the wing aspect ratio.
A glider's glide ratio varies with airspeed, but there is a maximum value which is frequently quoted. Glide ratio usually varies little with vehicle loading; a heavier vehicle glides faster, but nearly maintains its glide ratio. [21] Glide ratio (or "finesse") is the cotangent of the downward angle, the glide angle (γ). Alternatively it is ...
A glider flying faster or slower than this airspeed will cover less distance before landing. [14] [13] A graph showing the sink rate of an aircraft (typically a glider) against its airspeed is known as a polar curve. [14] Polar curves are used to compute the glider's minimum sink speed, best lift over drag (L/D), and speed to fly. [13]
Chords on a swept-wing. In aeronautics, the chord is an imaginary straight line joining the leading edge and trailing edge of an aerofoil. The chord length is the distance between the trailing edge and the point where the chord intersects the leading edge. [1][2] The point on the leading edge used to define the chord may be the surface point of ...
The ASK 21 is the first full-GRP two-seater produced by Schleicher, flying for the first time in February 1979 (6.2.1979). Production also began in 1979, remaining in production to this day (May 2024), over 900 units completed. In December 2004 the ASK 21 Mi, a self-launching version, made its first flight.
Thickness-to-chord ratio. a=chord, b=thickness, thickness-to-chord ratio = b/a. The F-104 wing has a very low thickness-to-chord ratio of 3.36%. In aeronautics, the thickness-to-chord ratio, sometimes simply chord ratio or thickness ratio, compares the maximum vertical thickness of a wing to its chord. It is a key measure of the performance of ...
The Oswald efficiency is defined for the cases where the overall coefficient of drag of the wing or airplane has a constant+quadratic dependence on the aircraft lift coefficient. where. For conventional fixed-wing aircraft with moderate aspect ratio and sweep, Oswald efficiency number with wing flaps retracted is typically between 0.7 and 0.85 ...