APPAREL AS Coefficient of lift vs. angle of attack CLmax Coefficient of lift (CL) UNIQUE AS YOUR JOURNEY P&E PERFORMANCE Angle of attack Critical angle of attack Figure 1. OF Coefficient of lift versus attack the of airfoil of a typical general aviation COEFFICIENT LIFT versus angle of angle attackoffor the for airfoil a typical GA aircraft. aircraft. CORSAIR TEE Celebrate one of the most iconic fighter planes of World War II with this tee from Bella + Canvas. $25.00 GAUGE SOCKS You'll be right in style with these custom designed "Gauges" dress socks! $15.00 aopapilotgear.com might not actually decrease) and increased fuel consumption. Higher fuel consumption shortens endurance and, depending on cruise speeds, could reduce the range. The diagram on p. 87 offers wing loading and power loading values for a range of general aviation aircraft. An interesting side note involves the 1903 Wright Flyer. Just one of the goals that Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved to make possible their historic flight was their invention of a powerful yet lightweight engine. They fabricated an engine that produced 12 horsepower and, assuming a roughly 775pound gross aircraft weight (605-pound empty weight with a 170-pound pilot), the power loading comes in at 64.6 pounds per horsepower-a major feat for the day. The vast 510 square feet of wing area made the wing loading only 1.5 pounds per square foot. (To put things in perspective, a Cessna 172S has a wing loading of 14.7 pounds per square foot; a Cirrus SR22 has a wing loading of 23.5 pounds per square foot.) With all the compromises aircraft design entails there is no such thing as a perfect aircraft. But you can be sure that each one was carefully crafted by its designer to be optimal for the intended mission. The next time you read the specifications of an aircraft perhaps the wing loading and power 88 | AOPA PILOT September 2019 5/3/19 Q3.indd 1:10 PM1 2019 AOPA Pilot Gear Ad Kevin(FT & Pilot) 1/3 Page Non-Bleed LOW POWER LOADING Pros Better takeoff performance. Better climb rates. Higher cruise speeds. Cons Potentially higher engine weight. Increased fuel consumption and shortened endurance. HIGH WING LOADING Pros Higher maximum cruise speed. More stable platform for instrument flying. Cons Higher stall speed. Longer takeoff and landing distances. loading values will tell you something about the nature of that mission. AOPA CATHERINE CAVAGNARO is an aerobatics inst- ructor (aceaerobaticschool.com), professor of mathematics at Sewanee: The University of the South, and speaker at AOPA fly-ins.http://www.aceaerobaticschool.com http://www.aopapilotgear.com