area rule
area rule · area rules
A rule stating that an airplane designed with the same cross-sectional area…A rule stating that an airplane designed with the same cross-sectional area distribution in the longitudinal direction as the Sears-Haack body generates the same wave drag as this body, largely independent of the actual shape; used in aerodynamics to reduce drag, typically by narrowing the fuselage at the wing roots.
Meaning
1 sensesA rule stating that an airplane designed with the same cross-sectional area distribution in the longitudinal direction as the Sears-Haack body generates the same wave drag as this body, largely independent of the actual shape; used in aerodynamics to reduce drag, typically by narrowing the fuselage at the wing roots.