PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Increased drag with weight
View Single Post
Old 29th Dec 2006, 19:29
  #13 (permalink)  
Mad (Flt) Scientist
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: La Belle Province
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes, usually the "S" is just the wing reference area, and doesn't change.

However, it IS true to say that as AoA varies from the optimum for the body for profile drag, the drag contribution from the body will increase. You can think of it as either a change to profile-Cd or an area change - I prefer the former - but the effect is the same...more drag.

ASSUMING that the lighter aircraft is closer to the optimum AoA, of course ...
Mad (Flt) Scientist is offline