Posted for "Doug Dodson" <dodsond@QNET.COM>:

Wing loading is nothing more that the wing area of an airplane divided by
its weight.  It is not related to the strenght of the wing.  One can
estimate some performance factors from it, however.  In general, a "high"
wing loading" give you high cruise speed, high stall and landing speed, a
good ride in turbulence, and poor turning ability.  Lower wing loadings
reverse the trends to lower cruise speed, low stall speed, tighter turning
ability.

Some typical wing loadings are about 13 lbs/sq ft for a C-152, 15 for C-182,
18 for Bo or Mooney, 20 for Glasair II, 25 for Glasair III, 25 for P-51,
around 150 for airliners and nearly 200 for the B-1B.

Douglas L. Dodson, Jr.
Glasair II-S FT
Flight Test Engineer, CFI-A,G