There's a question as to what the maximum wing loading of the Bixler is.
So that raises the question, what is wing loading, and why is it important?
The wing loading of an aircraft is the measurement of weight, carried by each given unit of area.
For our purposes, wing loading is measured as ounce (or decameters) per square foot. (oz/ft2 or dm/ft2).
So, the first step is to measure your wing area. This is done differently for the various shapes of wings. In this case we're using the Bixler so it's pretty easy. You can just treat this wing like a large rectangle. Measure the length, and the chord (front to back) and multiply the two numbers. I don't have one in front of me, but a search on the internet provides me with the information that it has a 55" wing span, and a wing area of 403 square inches. (403 divided by 55 gives me a chord of just over 7 inches.)
We still need to know the weight of the plane. The stock Bixler is just under 24 ounces, and a wing area of 403. In order to calculate the wing loading, we need the wing area to be converted to square feet (ft2).
1) Convert the area to square feet. There are 144 (12 x 12) square inches in a square foot.
403 in2 ÷ 144 = 2.79 ft2
2) We have our measurement in oz already, but if you had it in pounds, you would need to do that conversion. There are 16 ounces in a pound.
1.5 lbs x 16 = 24 oz
3) Divide the weight by the area"
24 oz ÷ 2.79 ft2 = 8.6 oz./ft2
To round this off, we'd get a wing loading of 9 oz./ft2 You can also perform the entire calculation with one formula:
(Weight x 2304) ÷ Wing Area
In this formula weight is in pounds, and wing area is in square inches.
As an example:
(1.5 x 2304) ÷ 403 = 8.57 oz./ft2
For multi wing aircraft, divide the overall weight of the aircraft by the total wing area for all wings.
So that raises the question, what is wing loading, and why is it important?
The wing loading of an aircraft is the measurement of weight, carried by each given unit of area.
For our purposes, wing loading is measured as ounce (or decameters) per square foot. (oz/ft2 or dm/ft2).
So, the first step is to measure your wing area. This is done differently for the various shapes of wings. In this case we're using the Bixler so it's pretty easy. You can just treat this wing like a large rectangle. Measure the length, and the chord (front to back) and multiply the two numbers. I don't have one in front of me, but a search on the internet provides me with the information that it has a 55" wing span, and a wing area of 403 square inches. (403 divided by 55 gives me a chord of just over 7 inches.)
We still need to know the weight of the plane. The stock Bixler is just under 24 ounces, and a wing area of 403. In order to calculate the wing loading, we need the wing area to be converted to square feet (ft2).
1) Convert the area to square feet. There are 144 (12 x 12) square inches in a square foot.
403 in2 ÷ 144 = 2.79 ft2
2) We have our measurement in oz already, but if you had it in pounds, you would need to do that conversion. There are 16 ounces in a pound.
1.5 lbs x 16 = 24 oz
3) Divide the weight by the area"
24 oz ÷ 2.79 ft2 = 8.6 oz./ft2
To round this off, we'd get a wing loading of 9 oz./ft2 You can also perform the entire calculation with one formula:
(Weight x 2304) ÷ Wing Area
In this formula weight is in pounds, and wing area is in square inches.
As an example:
(1.5 x 2304) ÷ 403 = 8.57 oz./ft2
For multi wing aircraft, divide the overall weight of the aircraft by the total wing area for all wings.