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Q:
Which type of wing (straight, sweept-back, etc.) produces more wing tip vortices?
A:
Short, stubby, and thick wings will create larger wingtip vortices than long, slender wings. This is because the primary characteristic of a wing that affects induced drag (also known as vortex drag), which is the resulting force from wingtip vortices, is the aspect ratio of the wings. A wing with a larger aspect ratio will be long and skinny, like those on a glider. There are downsides to wings with large aspect ratios, so not all planes have wings with large aspect ratios.
Posted on June 15, 2014 at 2:31 pm
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