Why do spaceships need wings in space?

[Sampa]

true, or they could be what several people already suggested earlier in which the "wings" are weapons placements

[linkxsc]

Star Wars wings were flat surfaces on both sides (short of the N-1 Starfighter). The lack of curves and the blunt/flat leading and trailing edges should make them pretty inefficient as an airfoil.

iirc it was the shield that wrapped around the wings deflecting the air that caused the airfoil properties, also by adjusting the shield output, thats how control surfaces were done. However that was a description out of some now noncanon comic talking primarily about the z95 headhunter

[WestAir]

I dunno about zero efficiency. I'm pretty sure I've seen square plywood fly before. (^Tongue in cheek)

[Temeter]

true, or they could be what several people already suggested earlier in which the "wings" are weapons placements

Wouldn't that be kinda impractical? The wings of an x-wing are further than some spaceships and convergence becomes an actual issue. Logically you'd want them as close as possible together so all weapons hit the same spot, and the shape of the ship should be as small as possible.

[cantab]

inefficient? Sir, their is NO efficiency at all! no airfoil means no means of creating lift like a conventional aircraft! Even todays helicopters follow this rule!

Incorrect. A flat board at an angle to the airflow will generate lift just fine. A good airfoil shape simply makes more lift and less drag.

[Sampa]

but not enough for sustained flight...

Take a flat board and throw it... yes, it'll fly, but only do to the force of being thrown. Also, a flat board lacks ANY aerodynamic properties. air is actually viscous and tends to stick onto objects. this is known as the boundary layer. Modern wings are designed to prevent the turbulence and disconnect of this layer of air as this robs ANY airfoil, aircraft, or object of lift causing what's known as a stall. This is why a straight flat surface is not the greatest idea for an airfoil.

[adsii1970]

That said, Vipers were pretty damn cool.^^

I agree, didn't care too much for the Raptors, though. Reminded me of the drop ship out of Starship Troopers... It could have been designed better (it is sci-fi, after all), to utilize the best of the Viper "technology" while still being a heavy assault/multi-purpose craft. Compared to what they had done with the Cylon ships, the new envisioned Galactica, and the Vipers, the Raptor was a disappointment. Reminded me of a flying over-microwaved baked potato!

[tajampi]

All my experience with starmade tells me that wings are a very nice way to make "shields", mostly to eveat weak stuff being shoot...

Also, they might work as heat radiators.

But, as in RL we don't have space war, neither weird reactors which heat cannot be disipated by "not so big" surface area, in RL they are for gliding and landing.

Anyway, don't they look cool?

Cheers!

[linkxsc]

but not enough for sustained flight...

Take a flat board and throw it... yes, it'll fly, but only do to the force of being thrown. Also, a flat board lacks ANY aerodynamic properties. air is actually viscous and tends to stick onto objects. this is known as the boundary layer. Modern wings are designed to prevent the turbulence and disconnect of this layer of air as this robs ANY airfoil, aircraft, or object of lift causing what's known as a stall. This is why a straight flat surface is not the greatest idea for an airfoil.

Flat board will stop flying because you arent adding any stability or power to it to keep it going. It stops "flying" when its airspeed gets too low.

Flown countless little rc planes that the wings didnt have proper airfoils on them, they were straight flat pieces of depron foam. Just have to have a rudder and elevator keeping the thing stable and making an angle to the airflow. Most of them fly just fine.

As far as temeter with the weapons convergence. Yes perhaps keeping weapons tight together firing forward is a good thing (p38 lightenings had all the guns right in the nose, and would often fire at enemies from much longer ranges than the 100m convergence area of a p51 or other wing mounted fighter.)

You can always argue cooling, wanna keep the engines and weapons far apart, so mount them out away from eachother. But tie fighters have the weapons tight in to their engine, with the coolant from both being routed out to the wings.

[Temeter]

I agree, didn't care too much for the Raptors, though. Reminded me of the drop ship out of Starship Troopers... It could have been designed better (it is sci-fi, after all), to utilize the best of the Viper "technology" while still being a heavy assault/multi-purpose craft. Compared to what they had done with the Cylon ships, the new envisioned Galactica, and the Vipers, the Raptor was a disappointment. Reminded me of a flying over-microwaved baked potato!

I kinda liked them for how utterly functional and compact they looked, since it actually makes sense on a carrier. That said, there really was something unnerving about seeing those potatos flying through the sky, they always felt like they had only slightly better atmospheric capabilities than the galactica itself.

That's why i'd say the series did a nice job at making raptors, and in extension even vipers with their stubby wings, look like the result of compromises. Never felt to me as if they are very maneuvrable or built for more than moderate atmospheric capabilities, only kept afloat by powerful engines and VTOL-capability.

As far as temeter with the weapons convergence. Yes perhaps keeping weapons tight together firing forward is a good thing (p38 lightenings had all the guns right in the nose, and would often fire at enemies from much longer ranges than the 100m convergence area of a p51 or other wing mounted fighter.)

You can always argue cooling, wanna keep the engines and weapons far apart, so mount them out away from eachother. But tie fighters have the weapons tight in to their engine, with the coolant from both being routed out to the wings.

Makes sense, i forgot myself why tie-fighters had their ridiculous wings. Star Wars design isn't that consistent, though. An Y-Wing has a powerful array of laser- and ioncannons, additionally to it's bomb load, and they are afaik all mounted above and below the cockpit.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Temeter

[tater]

They should have vast wings… radiators. The trouble with sic-fi ships is that they have these massively powerful drives, and directed energy weapons using gigawatts, and they have no radiators. Every watt needs to be radiated, or ships like those would be glowing white in no time.

[adsii1970]

Makes sense, i forgot myself why tie-fighters had their ridiculous wings. Star Wars design isn't that consistent, though. An Y-Wing has a powerful array of laser- and ioncannons, additionally to it's bomb load, and they are afaik all mounted above and below the cockpit.

TIE fighters do look neat, especially in large swarms. When playing the game, "X Wing versus Tie Fighter" I loved flying the TIE fighters, but always thought they were lacking a lot... no landing gear, no shielding, etc. In my opinion, I think the coolest looking ones were the TIE Interceptor and TIE bomber...

[Temeter]

TIE fighters do look neat, especially in large swarms. When playing the game, "X Wing versus Tie Fighter" I loved flying the TIE fighters, but always thought they were lacking a lot... no landing gear, no shielding, etc. In my opinion, I think the coolest looking ones were the TIE Interceptor and TIE bomber...

They do, Star Wars is a full application of rule of cool and 'soft' sci-fi. The ship-designs in Star Wars are pretty iconic for good reasons, to the point where we are discussing their realistic flight capabilities.

I always thought the Tie bomber is a bit derpy, but the Interceptor looks pretty cool. Personally I prefer the Tie Defender for it's insane ability to wreck face.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Temeter

[lincourtl]

I'd say that most sf spacecraft prior to Star Wars were either classic rockets, or were had other aesthetics to rely on than wings (Star Trek, Silent Running). And of course, one of the first sf ships was just a sphere -- E.E. "Doc" Smith started writing the Skylark stories in the early 1920s.