OK, I give up. After searching the internet and talking to various
people, I am totally confused about the simplest of airplane
calculations: Wing Loading. So you divide the Gross Weight by the Wing
Area and get, say, 35 #/sq.ft...what does that tell you about flight
characteristics? And what is the relationship (if any) to the fact that
the 98 sq.ft. Lancair IV wing sustained 12,000 lbs. during a static
test? Obviously, this gives me some comfort as to when the wing might
break, but people are always talking about wing loading wrt performance.
Using the static test, I get 122 #/sf. Using a 3,000# GW, I get 30.6
#/sf. Using a 4,000 # GW, I get 40.8#. At 3 G’s, I get a 4,000# LIV to
the static test limit. Does any of this translate to anything other than
a structural safety factor? Some pilots seem to toss around wing loading
comments like Bernoulli’s Theory. "High wing loading", "Low wing
loading"... compared to what? I seems much more complex than just a
structural safety factor. What the hell is it?!

Brian Barbata
Flunked Out Of Engineering...
But Built a IV-P Turbine Anyway