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Wing Area Effects Problems
If so instructed by your teacher, print out a worksheet page for these problems.
To answer the questions in this activity you will need to launch the application FOILSIM. Also open the slide called Size Effects (with text) and read the explanation on how size affects lift.

 

  1. Open FoilSim and set initial conditions as follows:
    Airspeed = 100 km/h, Altitude = 5000 m, Angle = 1 deg. , Thickness = 12.5, Camber = 12.5, Area = 10 sq. m. What is the Lift? ____________

     

  2. Change the area as shown in the following table and record the associated lift for each area to complete the table.

    Wing Area
    (sq. m)

    Lift
    (Newtons)

    10
     
    20
     
    30
     
    40
     
    50
     
    60
     
    80
     
    Table 1
  3. Construct a graph of Wing Area's effect on Lift with an Independent Variable (X) of Wing Area and a Dependent Variable (Y) of Lift. Label each axis correctly to include units.

     

  4. Interpolate the lift for a wing area of 70 sq. m.

    What is the lift? _________________

     

  5. Extrapolate the lift for a wing area of 100 sq. m.

    What is the lift? _________________

     

  6. What is the shape of the curve formed by this relationship? _________________

     

  7. Write the equation for this relationship.

     

  8. Based on the relationship between lift and area of a wing, how would you increase the lift on a wing?

 

Please send any comments to:
Curator: Tom.Benson@grc.nasa.gov
Responsible Official: Kathy.Zona@grc.nasa.gov