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Wing Area Answers
  1. Using the picture and dimensions provided, calculate the area of the Wright Brothers wing section and the F-18 Blue Angels wing. Record your answers in the data table. See table shown below.
  2. Open the FoilSim program. Set your airspeed =100, altitude =2,500, angle=5.0, thickness =12.5, and camber=0. Change the area by plugging in the values you calculated for each wing area and record the resulting lift force in your data table. See table shown below.
  3. Graph your results with the calculated values for area on the x-axis and the lift force on the y-axis. (Be sure to label your graph.) The graph will be a straight line through the origin.
  4. What is the relationship suggested by this graph? This indicates a directly proportional relationship.
  5. Find and record the slope of your graph. The calculated slope is approximately 14.
  6. Using the calculated slope, write the equation for the line (on your graph) using the form
    L = Constant * A, where L is the lift, constant is the slope, and A is the area. L=14A
  7. Using your equation, calculate the lift produced by the Boeing 747 and Concorde (area given in table). Record your answers in the table. See table shown below.
     
  8. Using your equation, calculate the area of the Space Shuttle compound wing (lift given in table). Record your answer in the table. See table shown below.
  9. Design a trapezoid wing that will generate a lift force of 121,000 lbs. Your wing span (distance from wing tip to wing tip) may not exceed 95 feet. Answers will vary. The design wing should not exceed an area of 8643 sq. ft. FoilSim will accept only whole values for wing area and will round the answer.

    Answers will vary. The design wing should not exceed an area of 8643 sq. ft. FoilSim will accept only whole values for wing area and will round the answer.

Wing

Calculated Area

Lift

Wright Brothers Rectangle
240 square feet
3491 pounds

F-18 (Blue Angels) Trapezoid
142.5 square feet
2080 pounds

Space Shuttle Compound
16,429 square feet
230,000 pounds

Boeing 747 Trapezoid
2750 square feet
38,500 pounds

Concorde Triangle
1820 square feet
25,480 pounds
Please send any comments to:
Curator: Tom.Benson@grc.nasa.gov
Responsible Official: Kathy.Zona@grc.nasa.gov