Wing Growth

[coolape]

I have no idea if anyone has started a simillar question before, but here it goes...

Does anyone have any experience in Wing growth or know what it is?

To my understanding its only aircrafts with swept back wings that suffer from wing growth.

Anyone with any stories or more knowledge of wing growth please share it.

Cheers.

[Milt]

"Wing Growth" has to be proportional to the absolute temperature and the coefficient of expansion of the material of manufacture.

If someone can come up with the coefficient of expansion for the alloy used to make the A380 wings we may be intrigued to learn that the wing span reduces by X millimetres per thousand feet on the climb!!!! But who will notice?

[coolape]

okay i must clarify what wing growth means then,..

I have been told by numerous Ex-RAF guys down here that Wing Growth is just the Wings Appearing to Grow then trying to taxi into tight spaces such as entering an entrance such as the hangar doors while turning.

One end may appear to have more clearance than it needs but as it gets closer, the clearance you once thought you had has decreased and you've just hit one of the walls.

[Dan Winterland]

What you refer to is known as Swept Wing Growth. A swept wing with the tips aft of the mainwheels will swing out and appear to grow in span when turning. This can be significant, just short of 6' on a B747-400.

And yes I do have experience of it. I ran into a set of poorly placed steps a few years ago! :\

[barit1]

Any aircraft with the wing tips located aft of the plane of the main gear experiences some "wing growth" in this context. Taildraggers are frequently victim to this - hence the origin of wing-walkers (the terrestrial kind) well before WWII.

[MrBernoulli]

Dan W,

"poorly placed steps" or poor taxying?:ok:

How are things in the east?

[Trash Hauler]

Having been involved in an 'interference fit' incident with a terminal, I am sure 'wing growth' was to blame. Unfortunately the company didn't see it that way.

[typhootea]

Dan Winterland - Spot on, the phenomenon is just as explained. The aircraft may have a 'span' of 70m but with a swept wing i.e. 747-400 the actual wing length may be, say 72m. Hence when the aircraft turns to access it's stand spot the wing appears to grow catching out the unwary!

Hammered into us in basic trade training in the RAF many years ago, the examples we were quoted were most commonly the VC-10.

[MrBernoulli]

I recall hearing about incidents of swept-wing growth with the Victor as well.