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March 03, 2013

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (03.03.13): Mean Aerodynamic Chord

Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC) MAC stands for Mean Aerodynamic Chord. MAC is the chord through the centroid of a single wing's plan area. A wing's chord can be difficult to measure because only if a wing was completely rectangular is the MAC equal to the chord. Most wing's aerodynamic centers are at 25% MAC. The ratio of the chord of a wing to its span is known as the aspect ratio. Aspect ratio a relative indication of the lift-induced drag the wing might create. In general, planes with higher aspect ratios, as ones with wide, skinny wings, have less drag. This is why high efficiency gliders have such long wings.

Aero Linx: The Vintage Sailplane Association The purpose of the Vintage Sailplane Association (VSA) is to promote the acquision, restoration and flying of vintage sailplanes by its members, and to assist the National Soaring Museum in the preservation of soaring history and the promotion of vintage sailplane activity. A Vintage Sailplane is any glider out of production since 1958, or a more recently built glider with appearance, performance and construction characteristics similar or comparable to gliders manufactured before 1958.

Aero-News Quote of the Day "Weather-related incidents continue to cost airlines significant amounts of money and impact the safety and comfort of passengers. Pegasus Airlines is mitigating this by flying the most advanced and capable weather radar on the market today." Source: John Ashton, Vice President, Airlines, Honeywell Aerospace EMEAI, in comments following the announcement that Turkey's Pegasus Airlines will be the first European carrier to fly with Honeywell's IntuVue 3-D Weather Radar Hazard Display Update V1.0. The system was recently certified by EASA for use in Europe.