Angle of incidence

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Angle of incidence is a measure of deviation of something from "straight on" and may refer to:

Angle of incidence (aerodynamics), the angle between the chord of the wing and the
longitudinal axis of the fuselage
Angle of incidence (optics), describing the approach of a ray to surface
A synonym for angle of attack, the angle between the chord of the wing and the undisturbed
airflow
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Angle of incidence.
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Angle of incidence (aerodynamics)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Angle of incidence of an airplane wing on an airplane.

On fixed-wing aircraft, the angle of incidence (sometimes referred to as the mounting angle[1]) is the angle
between the chord line of the wing where the wing is mounted to the fuselage, and a reference axis along the
fuselage (often the direction of minimum drag, or where applicable, the longitudinal axis). The angle of
incidence is fixed in the design of the aircraft, and with rare exceptions, cannot be varied in flight.

The term can also be applied to horizontal surfaces in general (such as canards or horizontal stabilizers) for the
angle they make relative the longitudinal axis of the fuselage.
The figure to the right shows a side view of an airplane. The extended chord line of the wing root (red line)
makes an angle with the longitudinal axis (roll axis) of the aircraft (blue line). Wings are typically mounted at a
small positive angle of incidence, to allow the fuselage to have a low angle with the airflow in cruising flight.
Angles of incidence of about 6 are common on most general aviation designs. Other terms for angle of
incidence in this context are rigging angle and rigger's angle of incidence. It should not be confused with
the angle of attack, which is the angle the wing chord presents to the airflow in flight. Note that
some ambiguity in this terminology exists, as some engineering texts that focus solely on the study of airfoils
and their medium may use either term when referring to angle of attack. The use of the term "angle of
incidence" to refer to the angle of attack occurs chiefly in British usage. [2]

Notes[edit]
1.

Jump up^ Phillips, Warren F. (2010). Mechanics of Flight (2nd ed.). Wiley &
Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-53975-0.

2.

Jump up^ Kermode, A.C. (1972), Mechanics of Flight, Chapter 3, 8th edition,
Pitman Publishing, London. ISBN 0-273-31623-0

Categories:

Aerodynamics

Aircraft wing design

Angle

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This page was last modified on 28 December 2015, at 19:27.

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