kco@alice.UUCP (06/16/83)
A student pilot friend recently told me about a book on soaring that said (apparently trying to make an intuitive impression) it "only" takes about 2 oz. per square inch of lift surface to keep an average 15 meter sailplane flying. This works out to 18 lb/sq ft. A more reasonable number for sailplanes would seem to be 3-4 lb/sq ft, given say a 2-33A and a hefty pilot that together weigh about 800lbs and a lift area of about 240 sq ft. Can anyone give some representative numbers for other aircraft - anywhere from a Cub to a 747? Does high wing loading always imply a high speed cruiser and low wing loading a floater?
larson@sri-unix.UUCP (07/08/83)
#R:alice:-193500:sri-unix:4000006:000:440 sri-unix!larson Jun 17 11:56:00 1983 Some wing loadings: Cessna 150 standard and trainer 1600lb 10.2lb/sq ft Cessna 150 commuter and f150 1600lb 10.0lb/sq ft Cessna 172M 2300lb 13.2lb/sq ft Cessna 177B (Cardinal) 2500lb 14.4lb/sq ft Grumman American AA5A (Cheetah) 2200lb 15.7lb/sq ft Grumman American AA1B 1560lb 15.5lb/sq ft None of these are sailplanes, the AA1A will drop rather fast without power, so 18 lb/sq ft sounds way out of range for a sailplane. Alan