PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Why heavier aircrafts take longer to slow down in the air?
Old 21st Nov 2012, 21:20
  #18 (permalink)  
Chu Chu
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 2,100
Received 30 Likes on 24 Posts
In general, drag is proportional to area, while mass is proportional to volume. Very roughly, if you scaled an airplane up by a factor of two, you'd increase the drag by a factor of four, and the mass by a factor of eight. Since the larger airplane would lower drag relative to its inertia, it would decelerate at a lower rate. Of course it isn't this simple, especially when you bring induced drag into the equation, but I think the general point holds.
Chu Chu is online now