Opinion poll: Wing dimensions

[Superfluous J]

This is an opinion poll, and I'd like to know your opinion without seeing what anybody else thinks, so please try to not read the thread first before voting.

Is this wing twice as LONG as it is WIDE, or twice as WIDE as it is LONG? Or are those terms dumb and I should be using others to describe it?

Feel free to opine about how you'd describe the wing to someone who couldn't see the picture and didn't know the names of the wing sections in KSP.

Edited September 28, 2016 by 5thHorseman

[Stargate525]

length of a wing is from fuselage to tip. I've never seen it used the other way.

[Hotaru]

I honestly don't use wide to describe wings at all. I'd say a sailplane has long or narrow wings whereas an F-104 has short wings but not wide ones. If you really want to be unambiguous you can always say high or low aspect ratio. 

[Gaarst]

Length of a wing is from the tip to the root. Width is from the leading to trailing edges, though the word "chord" is usually used and is more specific.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Gaarst

[SpacedCowboy]

Definition of "chord", please.

Don't make us go look!

[Superfluous J]

6 minutes ago, SpacedCowboy said:

Definition of "chord", please.

Don't make us go look!

I already did, and this picture basically tells it all.

[I_Killed_Jeb]

What prompted this poll?

[Superfluous J]

42 minutes ago, Hotaru said:

If you really want to be unambiguous you can always say high or low aspect ratio

As someone who doesn't know about wings, I have no idea if the one in the picture has a high or low aspect ratio

So I'm seeing some common themes though. The wing is definitely LONG as opposed to WIDE, and it seems WIDE is a bad term and may be what's leading to my personal confusion. But I'm still not sure how you'd describe the wing section.

"With a length twice its chord"? That seems clunky but better than anything else I can think of. I like chord, even though I had to look it up. Now that I know it, it removes all doubt.

"With a span twice its chord"? Though from that picture it seems "span" is across the entire plane, not just one wing.

"With a 2 meter [span|length] and a 1 meter chord"?

Edited September 28, 2016 by 5thHorseman

[Hotaru]

1 minute ago, 5thHorseman said:

As someone who doesn't know about wings, I have no idea if the one in the picture has a high or low aspect ratio

High aspect ratio = sailplane, low aspect ratio = F-104. Aspect ratio is the ratio of the span to the chord, so a long, narrow wing might have an aspect ratio of 10 while a short, stubby (there's another good wing-describing word for you) wing might be more like 1. 

[Guest]

It depends. For more efficient craft, I tend to use wings with longer wingspan. If I want more maneuverable craft, I use wings with larger root chords.

I'm most likely misusing these types of wings, though. Ah well.

[Superfluous J]

2 minutes ago, Hotaru said:

short, stubby (there's another good wing-describing word for you)

Hmmm, maybe use 2 terms to describe it.

"A longer wing section, 2 meters in span with a 1 meter chord." (for the one pictured)

vs

"A [short|stubby] wing section, with a 1 meter span and a 2 meter chord."

[FullMetalMachinist]

Another way to say it would be that the "length" is always the longest side/direction, the "thickness" is the shortest, and the "width" is the middle. So the wing section shown would be "twice as long as it is wide". 

Of course, that kinda goes out the window when you have squares or cubes, but it's good enough for most things. 

[Superfluous J]

1 minute ago, FullMetalMachinist said:

Another way to say it would be that the "length" is always the longest side/direction, the "thickness" is the shortest, and the "width" is the middle. So the wing section shown would be "twice as long as it is wide".

The problem with that (and likely the problem with the terms "length" and "width") is that there are 2 such wing sections that fit that description: the one shown and the same size wing section turned 90 degrees. I want the reader to know - just from reading the text - which wing I'm talking about.

[FullMetalMachinist]

1 minute ago, 5thHorseman said:

The problem with that (and likely the problem with the terms "length" and "width") is that there are 2 such wing sections that fit that description: the one shown and the same size wing section turned 90 degrees. I want the reader to know - just from reading the text - which wing I'm talking about.

Ah, yes. I forgot about that. True. Hmmmm. 

Seems that, really, the root problem is that there are two identical parts whose only difference is that the default rotation is turned 90 degrees. 

[Superfluous J]

9 minutes ago, FullMetalMachinist said:

Seems that, really, the root problem is that there are two identical parts whose only difference is that the default rotation is turned 90 degrees. 

hence this thread

[Firemetal]

I'd say wide. Why? I have no idea. It just sounds right.

[Mjp1050]

I've never actually considered parts to be wide or long; I consider parts to have a "forward" and "backward" relative to the direction of thrust. Kerballed parts also have an "up" and "down."

There should be another vote in the "different terms" section. My knee-jerk reaction was "It's wider, because it sticks out more."

[Superfluous J]

2 minutes ago, Mjp1050 said:

My knee-jerk reaction was "It's wider, because it sticks out more."

No worries at all. I wanted knee-jerk reactions It confirms that my own confusion was not a rarity.

At least in this instance

[razark]

4 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

Feel free to opine about how you'd describe the wing

I believe the pilot would describe it as "HOLY *****! Where did my other wing go?!?  Mayday! Mayday!"

 

I'd describe it as twice as long as it is wide.  (And from dorsal to ventral would be thickness.)

[Van Disaster]

Span ( span length if you like ) would be across the tips: "Narrow" wings generally describe short chord - leading to trailing edge distance - ( and likely high aspect-ratio ). Thin/thick would be the distance from wing bottom to top / chord, as you'd expect.

Aspect ratio gets a bit confusing when it comes to delta wings, which is why MAC is also a thing.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Van Disaster

[Kertech]

I would always say wings are designed for purpose, 

wide, multi segmented wings are great for gliding (e.g. Albatross), narrow wings with fewer joints are better for surviving speed and tight corners! 

[pandaman]

My interpretation is that 'Wing Span' is the measurement of the aircraft from wingtip to wingtip.  'Wing Length' would be the measurement of one wing from its tip to where it joins the fuselage, so in practice less than half the  span (by half the fuselage width).  'Width' and 'Chord' are, in the context of the original question, both meaning the same thing, but by using 'Chord' you will eliminate confusion.

[Majorjim!]

You guys are hilarious. It's clear that both terms are correct as the wing can be placed in two different ways.

[Van Disaster]

1 hour ago, Majorjim! said:

You guys are hilarious. It's clear that both terms are correct as the wing can be placed in two different ways.

No, it can't - if it's not attached to a fuselage it's not a wing, and as soon as you attach it it has chord

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Van Disaster said:

No, it can't

Oh yes it can.

Just now, Van Disaster said:

if it's not attached to a fuselage it's not a wing,

Yes it is and anyway it can be attached to 'fuselage' in two different ways.

Just now, Van Disaster said:

as soon as you attach it it has chord

What on Kerbin is Chord?

Edited September 28, 2016 by Majorjim!