Originally Posted by
AirDawg
iirc:
c.p. – is the point along the chord where the distributed lift is centered.
a.c. – is the point along the chord where lift changes (or the sum of lift changes)take place
c,p. is rather static and a.c. will move depending on aoa, dyanmic pressure (q), and other variables.
Hope this helps as a starter, someone else I'm sure can expand and/or clarify further.
Other way around. Center of pressure will change with mach and aoa. It is aerodynamic center that really doesn't change, theoretically calculated at exactly 25% MAC, but typically between 23 and 27%. There was a very informative thread on this a year or 2 ago. Keith Williams explained it well.