Influence of Wing Area and Span on Aerodynamics

Подпись: Stall progressing from trailing edge as angle of attack is increased Figure 3.40. Wing stall patterns

For a given wing loading (i. e., the wing area and maximum takeoff mass [MTOM] invariant), aerodynamicists prefer a large wingspan to improve the aspect ratio in order to reduce induced drag at the cost of a large wing root bending moment. Structural engineers prefer to see a lower span resulting in a lower aspect ratio.

The BWB (see Figure 1.15) design for larger aircraft has proven merits over conven­tional designs but awaits technological and market readiness. Interesting deductions are made in the following sections.