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Aviation glossary

Wing loading

Also: wing load

Weights and performance

Ratio of an aircraft's weight to the area of its wings, usually expressed in kilograms per square metre; it shapes take-off, landing and ride quality.

What it is

Wing loading shows how much weight each square metre of wing supports. An aircraft with low wing loading can take off and land at lower speeds and on shorter runways. One with high wing loading needs more speed and more powerful high-lift devices, but rides more steadily in turbulent air, and its smaller wing produces less drag in cruise.

Each design strikes a balance according to its mission. Regional aircraft built for short runways tend towards moderate wing loadings, while long-haul jets optimised for cruise have much higher ones. Wing loading also falls during a flight as fuel is burnt.

At maximum take-off weight, an Airbus A320 is at roughly 640 kg/m² and an ATR 72 at about 380 kg/m².

On Vuelopedia

Airbus A320 ATR 42 / 72

Related terms

Wing areaPlan-view area of an aircraft's wings, usually including the portion that passes through the fuselage, used as the reference for lift calculations. MTOWMaximum weight at which an aircraft is certified to begin its take-off, including structure, crew, passengers, cargo and fuel. Take-off distanceDistance an aircraft needs from the start of its take-off run until it reaches a reference height above the runway, normally 35 feet for transport aircraft. FlapMovable surface on the trailing edge of the wing that extends to increase lift at low speed during take-off and landing. WingSurface that generates the lift needed for flight; on airliners it usually also holds much of the fuel and carries the engines.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Wing loading. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wing-loading

MLA

“Wing loading.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wing-loading. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Wing loading.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wing-loading.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Wing loading. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wing-loading (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_wing_loading,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Wing loading}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wing-loading},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wing-loading}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wing-loading |title=Wing loading |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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