Wing Loading Calculator

Every aircraft design process begins with this wing loading calculation. The wing loading is a parameter that affects several performance parameters of an aircraft, such as aircraft speed during take-off, landing, cruising, and stalling. The wing loading depends on only two factors, i.e., weight and projected area of wings, however, it also affects the turning performance and stability of an aircraft. Read on to understand what is wing loading and how to use the wing loading formula to get started with any aircraft design process.

Our surface area calculator for area of different shapes of wings and weight converter might be useful before using this tool.

Wing loading is defined as the ratio of the weight of an aircraft and the projected area of its wings. The weight here is usually assumed to be the gross weight or maximum take-off weight of the aircraft. The wing loading parameter $W_\mathrm{L}$ is given by the equation:

where W and S are the weight of aircraft and wing area. In other words, wing loading can be defined as weight of aircraft per unit area of wing like surface density. Similarly, wing cube loading, $W_\mathrm{CL}$ can be written as:

Wing loading is measured in the units $\mathrm{kg/m^2}$ and $\mathrm{lb/ft^2}$ whereas wing cube loading is measured as weight per unit volume, i.e., same as density. You can also explore our thrust to weight ratio calculator to help you design an aircraft.

Wing loading parameter forms the basis of the early stages of aircraft design. Some of the parameters which are affected by the value of wing loading are:

• Aircraft speeds — Different types of aircraft speeds such as take-off and landing speeds, cruising and maximum speeds, and stalling speed, all are affected by any change in the wing loading parameter. Now, the area of the wing remains constant, which implies the load carried by aircraft causes an increase and decrease of various types of speeds. Such that, for a given velocity V:

• Turning performance — The turning radius and load factor is dependent on the wing loading. An aircraft can make tighter turns if its weight is less. Such that, for a particular turning radius, R:

Follow the steps below to calculate wing loading:

1. Enter the weight of the aircraft.
2. Fill in the area of wings.
3. The wing loading calculator will return wing loading and wing cube loading.

Estimate the wing loading for a MiG 21 aircraft whose wing area is 23 m² and take off weight is 10,400 kg.

To calculate wing loading:

1. Fill in the area of wings $S = 23~\mathrm{m^2}$.
2. Enter the weight of the aircraft, W = 10,400 kg.
3. Using the wing loading formula:

You can also select Mikoyan Gurevich MiG 21 from our tool's aircraft selection to instantly display both its wing area and weight. But make sure to choose the last dropdown option if you want to enter a custom aircraft's wing area and weight into our aircraft wing loading calculator.

4. Similarly, wing cube loading can be calculated as:

The wing loading parameter varies for different types of aircraft. For instance, a glider aircraft has a very low value of wing loading compared to a military or a passenger jet. Similarly, a passenger aircraft has a larger wing loading value compared to military fighter aircraft due to the larger load. Further, different types of wing configurations have different aspect ratios and wing loading. A typical hobby RC aircraft has $0.625 - 2.5 \mathrm{lb/ft^2}$.