wing

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noun

1. A part added to a main structure: annex, arm, extension. See part/whole.
2. A component of government that performs a given function: agency, arm, branch, department, division, organ. See part/whole.

verb

1. To move through the air with or as if with wings: flap, flit, flitter, flutter, fly, sail. See move/halt.
2. To move swiftly: bolt, bucket, bustle, dart, dash, festinate, flash, fleet, flit, fly, haste, hasten, hurry, hustle, pelt², race, rocket, run, rush, sail, scoot, scour², shoot, speed, sprint, tear¹, trot, whirl, whisk, whiz, zip, zoom. Informal hotfoot, rip. Slang barrel, highball. Chiefly British nip¹. Idioms: get a move on, get cracking, go like lightning, go like the wind, hotfoot it, make haste, make time, make tracks, run like the wind, shake a leg, stepjumpon it. See move/halt.

Idioms beginning with wing:
wing it

In addition to the idiom beginning with wing, also see clip someone's wings; in the wings; left wing; on the wing; take flight (wing); under someone's wing.

Definition: section; extension
Antonyms: base, headquarters

n. 1. a rigid horizontal structure that projects from both sides of an aircraft and supports it in the air.

2. (wings) a pilot's certificate of ability to fly a plane, indicated by a badge representing a pair of wings.

3. a flank of a battle array.

4. an air force unit of several squadrons or groups.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

1. A subsidiary part of a building extending out from the main portion.
2. In a theater, the offstage space at the side of the acting area.
3. One of the four leaves of a revolving door.

Usually Air Wing, an aviation unit equivalent to an infantry division.

(DOD) 1. An Air Force unit composed normally of one primary mission group and the necessary supporting organizations, i.e., organizations designed to render supply, maintenance, hospitalization, and other services required by the primary mission groups. Primary mission groups may be functional, such as combat, training, transport, or service. 2. A fleet air wing is the basic organizational and administrative unit for naval-, land-, and tender-based aviation. Such wings are mobile units to which are assigned aircraft squadrons and tenders for administrative organization control. 3. A balanced Marine Corps task organization of aircraft groups and squadrons, together with appropriate command, air control, administrative, service, and maintenance units. A standard Marine Corps aircraft wing contains the aviation elements normally required for the air support of a Marine division. 4. A flank unit; that part of a military force to the right or left of the main body.

A thin flat extension found at the margins of a seed or leafstalk or along a stem.

A modified limb suitable for generating aerodynamic lift. Wing membranes or patagia are stretched between bony elements. In birds the wing surface is increased by large flight feathers (remiges) borne on the hand (primaries) or ulna (secondaries). In bats the patagia are more extensive than in birds through enlargement of the bones of the hand.

• w. amputation — the extreme form of deflighting.
• dropped w. — a name for Salmonella typhimurium infection in young pigeons which causes arthritis in the wing.
• w. louse — lipeurus caponis.
• w. vein — cutaneous ulnar vein; on the under surface of the extended wing, the favored location for venepuncture in most avian species.

• Limbs and Extremities - wing: Slang. arm
• Animal Types and Parts - wing: either of the feathered forelimbs of a bird, used for flying; forelimb of a flying mammal, formed by membrane stretched between digits
• Building and Machine Parts - wing: part extending laterally from main part
• Airframe and Engines - wing: part of airplane that provides lift, esp. main lateral airfoil, usu. in pairs
• Entryways and Lateral Extensions - wing: section or room projecting from main structure
• Rooms - wing: portion of building that projects from main part
• Philosophies, Principles, and Parties - wing: opposing faction within legislature or party
• Soldiers and Military Life - wing: administrative and tactical unit of U.S. Air Force consisting of two or more groups, headquarters, and support services
• War Machinery and War Zones - wing: left or right section of army or fleet; flank
• Hockey
• Mood and Intent - wing: fly as if on wings; move swiftly

For other uses, see Wing (disambiguation).

"Winged" redirects here. For other uses, see Winging (disambiguation).

A laughing gull with its wings extended in the gull wing profile

Several aircraft wing planform shapes: a swept wing KC-10 Extender (top) refuels a trapezoidal-wing F-22 Raptor fighter plane

The wing of a landing BMI Airbus A319-100. The slats at its leading edge and the flaps at its trailing edge are extended.

The low pressure region over the wing of this A340 is clearly shown by the condensation it causes in the humid air

Flaps (green) are used in various configurations to increase the wing area and to increase the lift. In conjunction with spoilers (red), flaps maximize drag and minimize lift during the landing roll.

Internal mechanical construction of a generic monospar wing. Black = solid, red = tube used for the spar, green = foam, wood, honeycomb, or sheet metal used for the ribs. The leading edge gives torsional stiffness. The trailing edge can either have a flexible skin, which does not break under wing bending (birdlike,) or have a stiff skin (made of carbon fiber, aluminum alloy, or titanium, aircraft-like), which is prevented from buckling by span-wise "stringers."

A Mute Swan spreads its wings.

A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid. A wing is an airfoil, which has a streamlined cross-sectional shape producing a useful lift to drag ratio.

The word "wing" from the Old Norse vængr ^[1] for many centuries referred mainly to the foremost limbs of birds (in addition to the architectural aisle.) But in recent centuries the word's meaning has extended to include lift producing appendages of insects, bats, pterosaurs, boomerangs, some sail boats and aircraft.

"Wing" can also mean an inverted airfoil on a race car that generates a downward force to increase traction.

Various species of penguins and other flighted or flightless water birds such as auks, cormorants, guillemots, shearwaters, eider and scoter ducks and diving petrels are avid swimmers, and use their wings to propel through water.^[2]

A wing's aerodynamic quality is expressed as its lift-to-drag ratio. The lift a wing generates at a given speed and angle of attack can be one to two orders of magnitude greater than the total drag on the wing. A high lift-to-drag ratio requires a significantly smaller thrust to propel the wings through the air at sufficient lift.

Contents 1 The aerodynamics of wings 1.1 Devices to change the shape of a wing 1.2 A common misconception 1.3 Other examples 2 Design features 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

The aerodynamics of wings

The design and analysis of the wings of aircraft is one of the principal applications of the science of aerodynamics, which is a branch of fluid mechanics. The properties of the airflow around any moving object can - in principle - be found by solving the Navier-Stokes equations of fluid dynamics. However, except for simple geometries these equations are notoriously difficult to solve.^[3] Fortunately, simpler explanations can be described.

For a wing to produce "lift", it must be oriented at a suitable angle of attack relative to the flow of air past the wing. When this occurs the wing deflects the airflow downwards, "turning" the air as it passes the wing. Since the wing exerts a force on the air to change its direction, the air must exert a force on the wing, equal in size but opposite in direction. This force manifests itself as differing air pressures at different points on the surface of the wing.^[4][5][6]

A region of lower-than-normal air pressure is generated over the top surface of the wing, with a higher pressure existing on the bottom of the wing. (See: airfoil) These air pressure differences can be either measured directly using instrumentation or they can be calculated from the airspeed distribution using basic physical principles, including Bernoulli's Principle which relates changes in air speed to changes in air pressure.

The lower air pressure on the top of the wing generates a smaller downward force on the top of the wing than the upward force generated by the higher air pressure on the bottom of the wing. Hence, a net upward force acts on the wing. This force is called the "lift" generated by the wing.

The different velocities of the air passing by the wing, the air pressure differences, the change in direction of the airflow, and the lift on the wing are intrinsically one phenomenon. It is, therefore, possible to calculate lift from any of the other three. For example, the lift can be calculated from the pressure differences, or from different velocities of the air above and below the wing, or from the total momentum change of the deflected air. There are other approaches in fluid dynamics to solving these problems. All of these approaches will result in the same answers if done correctly. Given a particular wing and its velocity through the air, debates over which mathematical approach is the most convenient to use can be misperceived by novices as differences of opinion about the basic principles of flight.

For a more detailed coverage see lift (force).

Devices to change the shape of a wing

Usually, aircraft wings have various devices, such as flaps or slats that the pilot uses to modify the shape and surface area of the wing to change its operating characteristics in flight. In 1948, Francis Rogallo invented the fully limp flexible wing, which ushered new possibilities for aircraft. Near in time, Domina Jalbert invented flexible un-sparred ram-air airfoiled thick wings. These two new branches of wings have been since extensively studied and applied in new branches of aircraft, especially altering the personal recreational aviation landscape.

A common misconception

A common misconception is that in order to generate lift it is essential for the wing to have a longer path on the topside compared with the underside. Wings with this shape are the norm in subsonic flight, but symmetrically shaped wings (above and below) can generate lift by using a positive angle of attack to deflect air downward. Symmetrical aerofoils are, in general, less efficient and lack the lift provided by cambered wings at the zero angle of attack^[7] but are used in aerobatics, as they provide practical performance both upright and inverted. Another example comes from sailboats, where the sail is merely a thin membrane and there is no path-length difference between one side and the other.^[8]

For flight speeds near the speed of sound (transonic flight) or above the speed of sound (supersonic flight), airfoils with complex asymmetrical shapes are used to minimize the drastic increase in drag associated with airflow near the speed of sound.^[9] Such airfoils are called supercritical airfoils.

Other examples

The science of wings applies in other areas beyond conventional fixed-wing aircraft, including:

• Hang gliders, which use wings from fully flexible (paragliders, gliding parachutes) wings, flexible wings (framed sail wings), to rigid wings
• Kites, which use a vast variety of wings.
• Flying model airplanes
• Helicopters, which use a rotating wing with a variable pitch or angle to provide directional forces
• The NASA Space Shuttle, which uses its wings only to glide during its descent to a runway. These types of aircraft are called spaceplanes.
• Some racing cars, especially Formula One cars, which use upside-down wings (or airfoils) to provide greater traction at high speeds
• Sailboats, which use sails as vertical wings with variable fullness and direction to move across water

Structures with the same purpose as wings, but designed for use in liquid media, are generally called fins or hydroplanes, with hydrodynamics as the governing science, rather than aerodynamics. Applications of these arise in craft such as hydrofoils and submarines. Sailboats and sailing ships use both fins and wings.

Design features

Aircraft wings may feature some of the following:

• A rounded leading edge cross-section
• A sharp trailing edge cross-section
• Leading-edge devices such as slats, slots, or extensions
• Trailing-edge devices such as flaps or flaperons (combination of flaps and ailerons)
• Ailerons (usually near the wingtips) to roll the aircraft clockwise or counterclockwise about its long axis
• Spoilers on the upper surface to disrupt the lift and to provide additional traction to an aircraft that has just landed but is still moving.
• Vortex generators to help prevent flow separation in transonic flow
• Wing fences to keep flow attached to the wing by stopping boundary layer separation from spreading
• Winglets to keep wingtip vortices from increasing drag and decreasing lift
• Dihedral, or a positive wing angle to the horizontal. This gives inherent stability in the roll direction. Anhedral, or a negative wing angle to the horizontal, has a destabilizing effect
• Folding wings allow more aircraft storage in the confined space of the hangar deck of an aircraft carrier
• Variable-sweep wing or "swing wings" that allow outstretched wings during low-speed flight (i.e., take-off and landing) and swept back wings for high-speed flight (including supersonic flight), such as in the F-111 Aardvark, the F-14 Tomcat, the Panavia Tornado, the MiG-23 the MiG-27, and the B-1B Lancer warplanes

See also

• Flight

Natural world:

• Bird flight
• Flight feather
• Flying and gliding animals
• Insect flight
• List of soaring birds

Aviation:

• FanWing and Flettner airplane (experimental wing types)
• Kite types
• Ornithopter - Flapping-wing aircraft (research prototypes, simple toys and models)
• Otto Lilienthal
• Planform
• Wing configuration
• Wing suit

Sailing:

• Sails
• Forces on sails

References

1. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wing. Retrieved 2012-04-25. 
2. ^ "Swimming". Stanford.edu. http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Swimming.html. Retrieved 2012-04-25. 
3. ^ ">"Navier-Stokes Equations". Grc.nasa.gov. 2012-04-16. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/nseqs.html. Retrieved 2012-04-25. 
4. ^ "...the effect of the wing is to give the air stream a downward velocity component. The reaction force of the deflected air mass must then act on the wing to give it an equal and opposite upward component." In: Halliday, David; Resnick, Robert, Fundamentals of Physics 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, p. 378 
5. ^ "If the body is shaped, moved, or inclined in such a way as to produce a net deflection or turning of the flow, the local velocity is changed in magnitude, direction, or both. Changing the velocity creates a net force on the body" "Lift from Flow Turning". NASA Glenn Research Center. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/right2.html. Retrieved 2011-06-29. 
6. ^ "The cause of the aerodynamic lifting force is the downward acceleration of air by the airfoil..." Weltner, Klaus; Ingelman-Sundberg, Martin, Physics of Flight - reviewed, http://user.uni-frankfurt.de/~weltner/Flight/PHYSIC4.htm 
7. ^ E. V. Laitone, Wind tunnel tests of wings at Reynolds numbers below 70 000, Experiments in Fluids 23, 405 (1997). doi:10.1007/s003480050128
8. ^ "...consider a sail that is nothing but a vertical wing (generating side-force to propel a yacht). ...it is obvious that the distance between the stagnation point and the trailing edge is more or less the same on both sides. This becomes exactly true in the absence of a mast—and clearly the presence of the mast is of no consequence in the generation of lift. Thus, the generation of lift does not require different distances around the upper and lower surfaces." Holger Babinsky How do Wings Work? Physics Education November 2003, PDF
9. ^ John D. Anderson, Jr. Introduction to Flight 4th ed page 271.

External links

• How Wings Work - Holger Babinsky Physics Education 2003
• "Physics of flight - revisited" Weltner and Ingelman-Sundberg
• How Airplanes Fly: A Physical Description of Lift
• Demystifying the Science of Flight - Audio segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation Science Friday
• NASA's explanations and simulations
• Flight of the StyroHawk wing
• See How It Flies

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wing

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - vinge, fløj, skærm, sidekulisse, wing, bæreplan, afdeling
v. intr. - flyve
v. tr. - flyve

idioms:

• in the wings    i kulissen
• on a wing and a prayer    det mindste lille håb
• on the wing    på vingerne, på flugt, under opbrud, ved at tage afsted
• take under one's wing    tage en under sine vinger
• take wing    flygte, flyve op
• wing chair    øreklapstol
• wing collar    knækflip
• wing commander    oberstløjtnant i flyvevåben
• wing it    improvisere, finde på undervejs
• wing one's way    improvisere sig igennem noget

Nederlands (Dutch)
vleugel, coulisse, bijgebouw, vleugelspeler, spatbord, stoelleuning

Français (French)
n. - (Zool) aile, aile (de voiture), oreille (de fauteuil), (Mil, Pol) aile, escadre, (Sport) allier, aile côté, (Théât) coulisses (npl), (Aviat) insigne (npl)
v. intr. - voler
v. tr. - voler vers, érafler (balle)

idioms:

• in the wings    (Théât) (attendre) dans les coulisses
• on a wing and a prayer    avec très peu de chance de succès
• on the wing    (attraper) au vol (un insecte), (être) en vol
• on wings    (se sentir) plein de joie, exalté
• take under one's wing    prendre (qn) sous son aile
• take wing    s'envoler (des pensées) (littér)
• wing chair    fauteuil à oreilles
• wing collar    col cassé
• wing commander    lieutenant-colonel de l'armée de l'air
• wing it    (US) improviser
• wing one's way    voler vers

Deutsch (German)
n. - Flügel, Kulisse, Außenstürmer, Kotflügel, Tragfläche, Geschwader
v. - fliegen, am Flügel od. Arm verwunden, mit Flügeln, Tragflächen o.ä. ausstatten

idioms:

• in the wings    handlungsbereit, auf eine Chance wartend
• on a wing and a prayer    mit nur geringen Erfolgsaussichten
• on the wing    im Fluge
• on wings    hocherfreut, in Hochstimmung sein
• take under one's wing    unter jmds. Fittiche nehmen
• take wing    auffliegen
• wing chair    Ohrensessel
• wing collar    Ecken- od. Klappenkragen
• wing commander    Geschwaderkommandeur
• wing it    improvisieren
• wing one's way    fliegen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φτερούγα, φτερό, (αρχιτ.) πτέρυγα (κτιρίου κ.λπ.), (στρατ.) πτέρυγα (μάχης), πολιτική παράταξη, πολιτικός χώρος, (πληθ.) παρασκήνια (θεάτρου)
v. - ίπταμαι, πετώ, τραυματίζω στα άκρα (κν. παίρνω ξώφαλτσα), (καθομ.) ταξιδεύω με αεροπλάνο

idioms:

• in the wings    στα παρασκήνια
• on a wing and a prayer    μετά φόβου Θεού, με ελάχιστες ελπίδες
• on the wing    σε πτήση (κν. στο φτερό)
• take under one's wing    παίρνω υπό την προστασία μου
• take wing    (για πουλιά) σηκώνω φτερό
• wing chair    μπερζέρα
• wing collar    πουκάμισο με ανασηκωμένο σκληρό γιακά
• wing commander    (στρατ.) (Βρετ.) αντισμήναρχος
• wing it    αυτοσχεδιάζω
• wing one's way    πηγαίνω τάχιστα (αεροπορικά)

Italiano (Italian)
ala, quinta, parafango

idioms:

• clip one's wings    tarpare le ali di
• in the wings    pronto all'azione
• on a wing and a prayer    quasi senza speranza di successo
• on the wing    in volo
• spread/stretch one's wings    stendere le ali
• take under one's wing    prendere sotto la propria protezione
• take wing    prendere volo
• wing chair    sedia con braccioli
• wing collar    colletto alto
• wing commander    comandante di squadrone
• wing it    improvvisare
• wing one's way    volarsene

Português (Portuguese)
n. - asa (f), vôo (m), meio ou instrumento de transporte (m)
v. - voar

idioms:

• clip one's wings    cortar as asas
• in the wings    oculto, disponível em breve
• on a wing and a prayer    sem muitos recursos, apenas confiança ou fé
• on the wing    durante vôo
• spread/stretch one's wings    alargar seus horizontes
• take under one's wing    estar sob proteção
• take wing    levantar vôo, voar
• wing chair    tipo de cadeira
• wing collar    gola quebrada (f)
• wing commander    tenente coronel (m)
• wing it    dizer algo sem preparação
• wing one's way    voar

Русский (Russian)
крыло, оперение стрелы, парус, рука, фланг, флигель, группировка, створка (двери), кулиса, плечики (на одежде), окрылять, подгонять, лететь, ранить в крыло, в руку, оперять (стрелу), пускать (стрелу), пристраивать крыло (к зданию)

idioms:

• clip one's wings    подрезать крылья (кому-л.)
• in the wings    за кулисами
• on a wing and a prayer    вынужденная посадка, малейшая надежда в критической ситуации
• on the wing    в полете, на ходу, в пути, в переездах с места на место
• spread/stretch one's wings    расправлять крылья, в полной мере проявить свои силы, способности
• take under one's wing    взять под крылышко
• take wing    вспорхнуть, улететь, спасаться бегством, исчезнуть
• wing chair    кресло с подголовником
• wing collar    воротник-стойка со скошенными концами
• wing commander    командир авиационного крыла
• wing it    импровизировать, действовать по наитию, скрыться, приступить к делу
• wing one's way    лететь, быстро продвигаться (к какой-л. цели)

Español (Spanish)
n. - bastidores (de teatro), ala, aleta, vuelo, escuadrilla, patilla, aspa, guardabarros
v. intr. - volar, aletear
v. tr. - dar alas a, emplumar (una flecha), agregar alas a (un edificio), atravesar volando, herir en el ala o en el brazo, herir ligeramente

idioms:

• in the wings    mantenerse al margen
• on a wing and a prayer    de milagro
• on the wing    al vuelo, volando
• on wings    en el cielo
• take under one's wing    acoger en su regazo, tomar bajo su protección
• take wing    alzar el vuelo
• wing chair    sillón de orejas
• wing collar    cuello de camisa de esmoquin o frac
• wing commander    teniente coronel (fuerza aérea), vice-comodoro
• wing it    llevar a cabo algo sin la suficiente preparación, improvisar
• wing one's way    ir volando, estar en camino

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vinge, flygel, dörrhalva, stänkskärm, kuliss, flottilj
v. - förse med vingar, skänka vingar, flyga, vingskjuta, såra

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
翅, 翼, 翅膀, 飞, 飞行, 装以翼, 使飞, 飞过

idioms:

• in the wings    在后方, 在附近, 在舞台两侧
• on a wing and a prayer    靠运气
• on the wing    在飞行中
• take under one's wing    得到某人的照顾或资助
• take wing    起飞, 逃走
• wing chair    高背椅
• wing collar    硬翻领, 上浆翻领
• wing commander    中校, 联队长
• wing it    即兴表演
• wing one's way    飞速行进

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 翅, 翼, 翅膀
v. intr. - 飛, 飛行
v. tr. - 裝以翼, 使飛, 飛過

idioms:

• in the wings    在後方, 在附近, 在舞臺兩側
• on a wing and a prayer    靠運氣
• on the wing    在飛行中
• take under one's wing    得到某人的照顧或資助
• take wing    起飛, 逃走
• wing chair    高背椅
• wing collar    硬翻領, 上漿翻領
• wing commander    中校, 聯隊長
• wing it    即興表演
• wing one's way    飛速行進

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (곤충 등의) 날개, (비행기 등의) 날개
v. intr. - 날다
v. tr. - ~에 날개를 달다, 신속하게 나가게 하다, 공중을 나르다

idioms:

• in the wings    무대 옆에 숨어서, 대기하고, (눈에 안 띄게) 대비하여
• take under one's wing    비호하다, 품어 기르다
• take wing    날아가다, 기세가 더하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 翼, そで, 党派, たもと, 飛行大隊, ウイング
v. - 翼を付ける, 飛ばす, 飛ぶ, 傷付ける, 翼を傷付ける

idioms:

• in the wings    舞台の袖に隠れて
• on a wing and a prayer    いちかばちか
• on the wing    飛んで, 旅行中で, 活動中で
• right wing    保守派, 右派, 右ウィング
• spread/stretch one's wings    翼を広げる
• take wing    飛び立つ, 逃げる
• wing chair    袖椅子
• wing collar    ウイングカラー
• wing commander    空軍中佐
• wing it    即興で演ずる
• wing one's way    飛んで行く

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جناح, مروحه, كتف, شراع, طيران, جناح البناء (فعل) يصيب الجناح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮כנף, יחידת-טייסות, אגף, יציע, קיצוני (כדורגל), גוף קיצוני (פוליטיקה), חלק צדדי של אבר, ברבים: צידי הבמה (שאינם גלויים לקהל), צד של מגרש-משחקים, חלק המנוע שמעל לגלגל‬
v. intr. - ‮עף, טס, הכניף, הצמיח כנפיים‬
v. tr. - ‮עף, טס, זירז, פצע בכנף, פגע בזרוע‬