Lift to Drag Ratios

Source: http://www.aerodyn.org/HighLift/ld-tables.html
Antonio Filippone
The University of Manchester
School of Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil Engineering
Manchester M60 1QD
United Kingdom

Phone (+44) 161- 306 3702 (direct)

Email: email address

About the Author


Wings for Racing Cars, Re > 2.5-3.5
Hypersonic Waverider , M=8-10 [*] 3 ÷ 4
Supersonic Jet Transport (Concorde) 8
Tilt-rotor aircraft 9÷10
New Supersonic Transport [*] 15
Oblique Flying Wing [*] 16÷17
Subsonic Jet Transport 16÷18
Bomber B-52 20
Airfoil Eppler E 193 , Re=0.1 50
Airfoil Liebeck L 1003, Re= 220
 

[*] Estimated data

Table 2: L/D of Subsonic Jet Aircraft
Aircraft (year) (L/D)max
Boeing B707-320 19.4
Douglas DC-8 17.9
Airbus A320 17.
Boeing 767-200 19.
Boeing 747-100 17.7
Douglas DC-10 17.7
Lockeed Tristar L1011 17.0
Douglas DC-9 (1966) 16.5
Boeing B727-200 16.4
Fokker 50 (1966) 16
Douglas DC-3 (1935) 14.7
Ford Trimotor (1927) 12.
Wright Flyer I (1903) 8.3

Table 3: L/D of Some Birds
Bird L/D
House Sparrow (passer domesticus) 4.
Herring Gull (larus argentatus ) 10.
Common Tern (sterna hirundo ) 12.
Albatross (diomeda exulans ) 20.