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Aviation glossary

Wingspan

Also: span, wing span

Weights and performance

Distance between the outer tips of an aircraft's wings, measured from tip to tip and including winglets or other wingtip devices.

What it is

Wingspan is one of the measurements with the greatest influence on an aircraft's design. A long, slender wing produces less induced drag, the drag that comes with generating lift, and is therefore more efficient; gliders and many long-haul aircraft have wings of great span.

But span runs up against airport geometry. ICAO groups aircraft into code letters from A to F by wingspan, and each letter calls for taxiways, stands and separations of a given size. Code F aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8, with spans of between 65 and 80 metres, can only use airports prepared for them.

To stay within the limit, the Boeing 777X has folding wingtips: it spans about 72 metres in flight and folds them on the ground to fit Code E, the same category as the current 777.

On Vuelopedia

The technical data on a Vuelopedia model page includes its wingspan.

Airbus A380 Boeing 747 Boeing 777

Related terms

WingSurface that generates the lift needed for flight; on airliners it usually also holds much of the fuel and carries the engines. WingletNear-vertical extension at the wingtip that weakens the tip vortex, cutting induced drag and with it the aircraft's fuel burn. 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. TaxiwayPaved route linking the runways with the apron and other parts of an airport, along which aircraft move on the ground under their own power. GatePoint in the terminal from which passengers on a flight reach the aircraft, whether by airbridge, on foot across the apron or by bus.
Whole glossary

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Wingspan. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wingspan

MLA

“Wingspan.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wingspan. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Wingspan.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wingspan.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Wingspan. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wingspan (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

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

Wikipedia

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

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