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The use of wing tip sails to reduce vortex drag

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

J. J. Spillman
J. J. Spillman*
Affiliation:
College of Aeronautics, Cranfield Institute of Technology
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Extract

With the increasing need for fuel economy all possible areas of drag reduction need investigating. One form which offers considerable promise is lift-dependent drag which for most transport aircraft is approximately 30% of the total drag in the cruise and more at lower speeds. A reduction in lift-dependent drag at a given flight speed would directly reduce the operating costs of existing aircraft. Even greater savings might be obtained for twin-engined airliners where the wing loading is fixed by the high lift-dependent drag at climb-out from the airfield. A method of increasing the effective aspect ratio of a wing would allow new aircraft of this type to have lower wing areas and weights in addition to higher cruise lift-drag ratios.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 82 , Issue 813 , September 1978 , pp. 387 - 395
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1978 

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References

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