Wingspan

For other uses, see Wingspan (disambiguation).

The distance A to B is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320.

The wingspan (or just span) of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from the left wingtip to the right wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about 60 m (200 feet). The term wingspan, more technically extent, is also used for other winged animals such as pterosaurs, bats, insects, etc, and other winged aircraft such as ornithopters. For example, a Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) caught in 1965 had a wingspan of 3.63 m, the official record for a living bird.

Wingspan of aircraft

The wingspan of an aircraft is always measured in a straight line, from wingtip to wingtip, independently of wing shape or sweep.

Implications for aircraft design and animal evolution

The lift from wings is proportional to their area, so the heavier the animal or aircraft the bigger that area must be. The area is the product of the span times the width (mean chord) of the wing, so either a long, narrow wing or a shorter, broader wing will support the same mass. For efficient steady flight the ratio of span to chord, the aspect ratio, should be as high as possible (the constraints are usually structural) because this lowers the lift-induced drag associated with the inevitable wingtip vortices. Long-ranging birds, like albatrosses, and most commercial aircraft maximize aspect ratio. Alternatively, animals and aircraft which depend on maneuverability (fighters, predators, the predated and those who live amongst trees and bushes, insect catchers, etc.) need to be able to roll fast to turn, and the high moment of inertia of long narrow wings produces lower roll rates. For them, short-span, broad wings are preferred.

The highest aspect ratio man-made wings are aircraft propellers in their most extreme form as helicopter rotors.

Bats have a wingspan of 6-10cm

Wingspan of flying animals

To measure the wingspan of a bird, a live or freshly dead specimen is placed flat on its back, the wings are grasped at the wrist joints,ankles and the distance is measured between the tips of the longest primary feathers on each wing.

Wingspan in sports

In basketball, a fingertip to fingertip measurement is used to determine what is known as a player's armspan. This is also called reach in boxing terminology.

Wingspan records

Largest wingspan

• Aircraft: Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" - 319 ft 11 in = 97.54m
• Bat: Flying fox - 2m
• Bird: Wandering albatross - 3.63m
• Bird (extinct): Giant Teratorn - 8.3 m
• Reptile: Quetzalcoatlus pterosaur - 15m(18m?)
• Insect: White Witch moth - 280mm

Smallest wingspan

• Aircraft (Biplane): Bumble Bee II - 5 ft 6 in
• Aircraft (Jet): Bede BD-5 - 14 ft
• Bat: Bumblebee bat - 16cm
• Bird: Bee hummingbird - 6.5cm
• Insect: Tanzanian parasitic wasp - 0.2mm lol