Drag component of the total reaction: Induced, parasite or a mix?
Asked by: NovemberGolf 1615 views Aerodynamics, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, Student Pilot
I'm confident enough in my understanding of induced and parasitic drag. On revision however, looking through my books I cannot find anywhere that relates the individual definitions of drag types to the rearward component of the total reaction, which is always just labelled "drag".
I used to assume that the rearward component of the total reaction on a wing is classified as induced drag due to the sentence "induced drag is the drag related to the production of lift". However on looking at the explanation of induced drag in the Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, I read:
When the aircraft is viewed from the tail, these vortices
circulate counterclockwise about the right tip and clockwise
about the left tip. As the air (and vortices) roll off
the back of your wing, they angle down, which is known as
downwash. Figure 5-10 shows the difference in downwash at
altitude versus near the ground. Bearing in mind the direction
of rotation of these vortices, it can be seen that they induce
an upward flow of air beyond the tip and a downwash flow
behind the wing’s trailing edge. This induced downwash has
nothing in common with the downwash that is necessary to
produce lift. It is, in fact, the source of induced drag.
It's the part in bold that has me confused now. My question is simply what type of drag is the drag component of the total reaction on a wing?
EDIT: I'm leaving this question up incase anyone has something to add, however I've found an answer in a seperate book. It discusses the coefficient of drag which is found through windtunnel testing and includes no wingtip vortices/induced drag. It states that the rearward component of the total reaction found under wind tunnel conditions is how parasitic drag is found. Therefore the rearward component of the total reaction in my original question must be considered both categories of drag
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