GATE 2026 AE – Question 35
An elliptic wing has a span of 6 m and a planform area of 6 m$^2$. When generating a lift coefficient of 0.6, the induced drag it incurs is ________ $\times 10^{-3}$ (rounded off to 1 decimal place).
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Correct answer: 19.00 to 19.20
Explanation
The aspect ratio is $AR = \frac{b^2}{S} = \frac{36}{6} = 6$. For an elliptic wing $C_{D,i} = \frac{C_L^2}{\pi AR} = \frac{0.36}{6\pi} = 0.0191$, which is $19.1 \times 10^{-3}$.