Wingspan

Wingspan is the distance from wingtip to wingtip. The wingspan of an aircraft is always measured in a straight line, independently of wing shape or sweep.

Planes with a longer wingspan are generally more efficient because they suffer less induced drag and their wingtip vortices do not affect the wing as much. However, the long wings mean that the plane has a greater moment of inertia about its longitudinal axis and therefore cannot roll as quickly and is less manouverable. Thus, combat aircraft and aerobatic planes usually opt for shorter wingspans to increase manouverability.

Since the amount of lift that a wing generates is proportional to the area of the wing, planes with short wings must correspondingly have a longer chord. An aircraft's ratio of its wingspan to chord is therefore very important in determining its characteristics, and aerospace engineers call this value the aspect ratio of a wing.

This article is a stub. You can help Orbiterwiki by expanding it.