Technical question

[ysi_maniac]

Planes designed for long range use to have big wing.
What is the best, increasing wingspan or increasing wing area?

Thanks!
Carlos.

[JayBee]

Best for increased range is to increase the wingspan, in other words you are increasing the aspect ratio and the wing is more efficient.


BUT..............

doing that you will sacrifice both speed and manouverability.

The choice is yours.

Of course another way to effectively increase the span is add winglets.

jimB

[Fulcrum]

Which could lead to another question: did anyone build a what-if fighter jet with winglets???

[elmayerle]

Which could lead to another question: did anyone build a what-if fighter jet with winglets???

Doesn't quite qualify, but a production FV-12A?

[Shasper]

Ideally you'll want to increase both the span & the area of the wing so you can have the increase  internal fuel tankage, but it would depend on what type of aircraft we're dealing with.

[Mossie]

Carlos, if what your looking at is purely long range flight, you want to look at aircraft like the U-2, Voyager, Global Flyer, M-17 & M-52, Global Hawk.

For a combat aircraft, a wing like Canberra's might be a good option, had a combination of moderately long span with large area.  It had a long range & surprisingly good maneouvarbility for an aircraft of size.  Had a slightly unusual combination of straight inner section, trapezoidal outer section.

If it's a fighter, maybe a delta wing?  It's a compromise, but deltas can hold plenty of fuel.

[B777LR]

Which could lead to another question: did anyone build a what-if fighter jet with winglets???

The Yak-130 prototype

[GTX]

Which could lead to another question: did anyone build a what-if fighter jet with winglets???

The Yak-130 prototype

Technically not a fighter, but still close.

At a stretch (and it is a very long stretch), one could say the F-4 Phantom with the upturned outer wing sections.

Regards,

Greg

[B777LR]

Which could lead to another question: did anyone build a what-if fighter jet with winglets???

The Yak-130 prototype

Technically not a fighter, but still close.

At a stretch (and it is a very long stretch), one could say the F-4 Phantom with the upturned outer wing sections.

Regards,

Greg

Now, military aircraft with winglets:

C-17
C-135
C-32
C-37
C-40

Any more?