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Airplane wings on bottom vs on top of airplane...Difference?

S

Shockwave

Banned
So, whats really the difference of wings on the bottom of the plane vs on the top? Is there any difference besides looks?
 
Originally posted by: Shockwave
So, whats really the difference of wings on the bottom of the plane vs on the top? Is there any difference besides looks?
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It has nothing to do with looks. They do it for design reasons.
 
I heard biplanes get better lift with the 2 wings, not sure if the position of wings on monoplanes has any effects.
 
If the wings are on top, it doesnt block the view of the scenery.......unless you are looking up....CRAP.
 
In the design phase i can see a difference, but I mean functionally? I cant see one design over another allowinf for more weight capacity or any mroe aggresive performance envelope. Cargo airplanes use both types, fighter airplanes use both types, small private airplanes use both types.

 
Originally posted by: Shockwave
In the design phase i can see a difference, but I mean functionally? I cant see one design over another allowinf for more weight capacity or any mroe aggresive performance envelope. Cargo airplanes use both types, fighter airplanes use both types, small private airplanes use both types.
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Well, it's easier to see the runway when you're landing a high-wing plane. I have never actually flown a low wing plane, only Cessna 172s and 182s, but in all of my discussions with pilots, I never heard of any dramatic handling differences between high-wing and low-wing planes.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: Shockwave
In the design phase i can see a difference, but I mean functionally? I cant see one design over another allowinf for more weight capacity or any mroe aggresive performance envelope. Cargo airplanes use both types, fighter airplanes use both types, small private airplanes use both types.
Click to expand...

Well, it's easier to see the runway when you're landing a low-wing plane. I have never actually flown a low wing plane, only Cessna 172s and 182s, but in all of my discussions with pilots, I never heard of any dramatic handling differences between high-wing and low-wing planes.
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Cost differences maybe?? The only thing I can see is that a high wing as you put it would allow a propellor to clear the ground, but since most planes are jet / fuselage mounted prop that really shouldnt be an issue any more.

So, really there isnt a good reason and it just comes down to if the designed is feelin up or down that day??
 
I think high wing airplanes are cheaper and easier to make. The higher end planes are ususally low wing planes.

High wing planes are tail draggers a lot of times, therefore you can takeoff and land just about anywhere. Most low wing planes have tricycle landing gear, so you need a well preprared runway.

I'm sure there are many exceptions to what I just wrote.

<disclaimer> I saw this on discovery channel many years ago, so mey memory could be wrong </disclaimer>.
 
I really never noticed a big difference between the two other than visibility and accessibility. I do prefer high wing aircraft, though.

T tails are another story...I hate T tails.
 
Originally posted by: crab
I really never noticed a big difference between the two other than visibility and accessibility. I do prefer high wing aircraft, though.

T tails are another story...I hate T tails.
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T tails vs the fin tails? Whats the difference there?
 
The ground effect is much more apparent in low wing planes... at least down here in florida where ground effect can really be quite drastic at times...
 
Originally posted by: aphex
The ground effect is much more apparent in low wing planes... at least down here in florida where ground effect can really be quite drastic at times...
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Why would ground effect be any different in Florida than anywhere else?
 
Originally posted by: Marshallj
Originally posted by: aphex
The ground effect is much more apparent in low wing planes... at least down here in florida where ground effect can really be quite drastic at times...
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Why would ground effect be any different in Florida than anywhere else?
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Because of higher runway temperatures and the proximity of many airports to the beach. With runways that are very close to the beach (a few which I used to fly out of), you can sometimes get much cooler air only 10-15 above the ground.. Leaving you to float on a bubble of warm air as you approach for landing...
 
Originally posted by: aphex


Because of higher runway temperatures and the proximity of many airports to the beach. With runways that are very close to the beach (a few which I used to fly out of), you can sometimes get much cooler air only 10-15 above the ground.. Leaving you to float on a bubble of warm air as you approach for landing...
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But warm air is less dense and creates less lift than cool air. So you're have less lift over on a hot runway. This is called "density altitude". If it is very hot, your takeoff run will have to be longer.

You will not float on a "bubble of warm air", since that "bubble" would create less lift than cool air.



Text
 
Originally posted by: Marshallj
Originally posted by: aphex


Because of higher runway temperatures and the proximity of many airports to the beach. With runways that are very close to the beach (a few which I used to fly out of), you can sometimes get much cooler air only 10-15 above the ground.. Leaving you to float on a bubble of warm air as you approach for landing...
Click to expand...

But warm air is less dense and creates less lift than cool air. So you're have less lift over on a hot runway.
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Well, thats basically what im getting at. As you approach the runway, you seemingly level off not being able to touch down over the area of hot air (your still within the cold air mind you)... You are correct though, to say your floating on a bubble of hot air is incorrect. Eventually you slide into the hot air and sink like a rock, which in low-wing planes can be quite decieving and more dangerous. Mind you, this is going off of information i obtained taking lessons 5-6 years ago and from things my father has shown me, but I am fairly certain this is the case...

Flying into Pompano Beach and Ft. Lauderdale Executive airports with both low-wing (piper) and high-wing (cessna 152) planes, the difference can be quite drastic...
 
Here is another link explaining that higher temperatures decrease lift.

Warmer runway= less lift. It would decrease ground effect, not increase it, since the air is less dense.linky
 
Originally posted by: aphex
As you approach the runway, you seemingly level off not being able to touch down over the area of hot air (your still within the cold air mind you)... Eventually you slide into the hot air and sink like a rock, which in low-wing planes can be quite decieving and more dangerous.
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Yeah, that would make more sense. I would imagine that it would be pretty scary, depending on that lift at low speeds, and all of a sudden you start losing lift near the runway. I wonder how many planes have ruined their landing gear due to that?
 
Originally posted by: Marshallj
Originally posted by: aphex
As you approach the runway, you seemingly level off not being able to touch down over the area of hot air (your still within the cold air mind you)... Eventually you slide into the hot air and sink like a rock, which in low-wing planes can be quite decieving and more dangerous.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that would make more sense. I would imagine that it would be pretty scary, depending on that lift at low speeds, and all of a sudden you start losing lift near the runway. I wonder how many planes have ruined their landing gear due to that?
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I dunno, but we got stuck on the other end of it once. Trying to take off when it was over 100F and very high humidity. We climbed about 15-20 feet and kinda just slid foward (with our nose pointed up but not gaining any altitude). Eventually we leveled off and make a quick landing. Kinda scary though sometimes.
 
Originally posted by: Zrom999
I heard biplanes get better lift with the 2 wings, not sure if the position of wings on monoplanes has any effects.
Click to expand...


Well yeah, biplanes have twice the lifting surface, so if all else is equal (it rarely is) a biplane produces more lift. That's part of the reason that early planes were biplanes. With the less powerful, smaller engines of the time lift needed to be maximized, even for lightweight wood and canvas designs. It doesn't really matter where on the plane the wings are located, the lift they create is from the surface area and the shape. If one design really worked better, that design would predominate. The aircraft manufacturers have some of the greatest engineers in the world using the most advanced computers to crunch every shred of aerodynamic data on earth and they still build high-wing and low-wing planes. That in itself should prove that neither design is markedly better than the other.
 
Originally posted by: aphex
I dunno, but we got stuck on the other end of it once. Trying to take off when it was over 100F and very high humidity. We climbed about 15-20 feet and kinda just slid foward (with our nose pointed up but not gaining any altitude). Eventually we leveled off and make a quick landing. Kinda scary though sometimes.
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Yeah, I've heard of that happening... you had enough lift to get off the runway due to the ground effect helping you out, but you didn't have enough lift without the ground effect to climb any higher. So you weren't able to rise out of ground effect because you didn't have enough speed.

That's actually a leading cause of crashes at takeoff... someone will try to get an overloaded plane into the air, and they think they're out of harm's way when they lift off the runway. But their plane does not have enough lift to rise out of ground effect and they end up hitting objects at the end of the runway.
 
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