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You have to design an airplane that is very fast. What type of airfoil would you use for the wing? Why?

2 Answers

8 votes

Answer:

flat bottom

Step-by-step explanation:

pretty good airfoil

User Luke Briggs
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1 vote

Final answer:

A high-speed airplane requires a thin, streamlined airfoil to minimize drag and maximize efficiency. Bernoulli's principle is used to achieve lift by designing the wing to cause faster airflow over the upper surface, but the entire aircraft design including body and thrust contribute to the plane's performance.

Step-by-step explanation:

When designing a very fast airplane, the type of airfoil used for the wings plays a crucial role in achieving high speed and necessary lift. Given that wings should ideally produce about 1000 N of lift per square meter, a suitable airfoil for high-speed aircraft would be one with a thinner, more streamlined shape. This reduces drag and allows higher speeds to be reached efficiently. Additionally, the upper surface of the airfoil would be designed to cause the air to flow faster over it, which according to Bernoulli's principle, reduces pressure and creates lift. For example, at takeoff speed of 60.0 m/s with sea level air density of 1.29 kg/m³, the air must flow particularly fast over the wing to generate the required lift. At a cruising speed of 245 m/s at an altitude where the air density is a quarter of that at sea level, the air must move even faster over the upper surface to maintain lift.

It's worth noting that aircraft design is complex and factors like altitude, speed, and air density will affect the airflow and thus, the lift produced. Therefore, while the airfoil plays a significant role in lift, other aspects such as the aircraft's body and engine thrust also contribute to the aircraft's ability to fly efficiently at high speeds.

User Cristian Vidmar
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