A wing is a type of fin with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid. As such, wings have an airfoil shape, a streamlined cross-sectional shape producing a useful lift to drag ratio.
The word "wing" from the Old Norse vængr for many centuries referred mainly to the foremost limbs of birds (in addition to the architectural aisle.) But in recent centuries the word's meaning has extended to include lift producing appendages of insects, bats, pterosaurs, boomerangs, some sail boats and aircraft, or the inverted airfoil on a race car that generates a downward force to increase traction.
Various species of penguins and other flighted or flightless water birds such as auks, cormorants, guillemots, shearwaters, eider and scoter ducks and diving petrels are avid swimmers, and use their wings to propel through water.
A wing's aerodynamic quality is expressed as its lift-to-drag ratio. The lift a wing generates at a given speed and angle of attack can be one to two orders of magnitude greater than the total drag on the wing. A high lift-to-drag ratio requires a significantly smaller thrust to propel the wings through the air at sufficient lift.
Read more about Wing: The Aerodynamics of Wings, Design Features
Other articles related to "wing, wings":
... The unit was again reactivated as the 322d Tactical Airlift Wing (322d TAW) on 1 January 1970 at Rhein-Main Air Base West Germany, replacing the 7310th TAW ... In addition, the wing used C-118s and C-131s for aeromedical airlift until late 1972, then shifted to C-9As for this work, continuing aeromedical airlift operations through March 1975 ... The wing utilized KC-135 (VIP equipped) to provide transportation for CINCUSAFE until early 1973, followed by KC-135B until early 1974 and by C-135C thereafter ...
... The 498th Nuclear Systems Wing (498 NSW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico ...
... The 384th Air Expeditionary Wing (384 AEw) is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force ... The wing's mission is largely undisclosed, however it is known that one of its missions was aerial refueling of combat aircraft ...
... on 27 June 1949 Established as 320th Bombardment Wing, Medium, and activated, on 1 December 1952 Discontinued on 15 September 1960 Redesignated 320th Bombardment ... Redesignated 320th Air Expeditionary Wing in 2001 (Remained in provisional status) Allocated to Air Force District of Washington in 2006 to activate or inactivate at any time ...
... Aircraft wings may feature some of the following A rounded leading edge cross-section A sharp trailing edge cross-section Leading-edge devices such as slats, slots ... flow separation in transonic flow Wing fences to keep flow attached to the wing by stopping boundary layer separation from spreading Winglets to keep wingtip vortices from increasing drag and decreasing lift ... Anhedral, or a negative wing angle to the horizontal, has a destabilizing effect Folding wings allow more aircraft storage in the confined space of the hangar deck of an aircraft ...
Famous quotes containing the word wing:
“The evils of mortals are manifold; nowhere is trouble of the same wing seen.”
—Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.)
“I come to one bush of berries so ripe it is a bush of flies,
Hanging their bluegreen bellies and their wing panes in a Chinese
screen.
The honey-feast of the berries has stunned them; they believe in
heaven.”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)
“Love’s the only thing I’ve thought of or read about since I was knee-high. That’s what I always dreamed of, of meeting somebody and falling in love. And when that remarkable thing happened, I was going to recite poetry to her for hours about how her heart’s an angel’s wing and her hair the strings of a heavenly harp. Instead I got drunk and hollered at her and called her a harpy.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)