This is kind of a basic question, but I thought I'd ask, because I can't find it in the reference I'm looking at.
I'm doing some calculations of wing loading and power loading for various aircraft. However, there's an important question: what weight do I use when I calculate it?
I've found a definition which says that wing loading is calculated with the loaded weight of the aircraft. However, it's from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_loading), so I thought I'd check around. :)
The corresponding definition for power loading (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_loading) is much more general and doesn't discuss which weight is used. It would make sense if it were calculated with loaded weight, but I choose to assume nothing.
Anyway, thanks for any light you might be able to shed on this topic.
I'm doing some calculations of wing loading and power loading for various aircraft. However, there's an important question: what weight do I use when I calculate it?
I've found a definition which says that wing loading is calculated with the loaded weight of the aircraft. However, it's from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_loading), so I thought I'd check around. :)
The corresponding definition for power loading (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_loading) is much more general and doesn't discuss which weight is used. It would make sense if it were calculated with loaded weight, but I choose to assume nothing.
Anyway, thanks for any light you might be able to shed on this topic.