The portion of the aircraft's total drag created by the production of lift is called which drag, and how is it affected by airspeed?

The portion of the aircraft's total drag created by the production of lift is called which drag, and how is it affected by airspeed?

• A. Profile drag
• B. Induced drag
• C. Form drag
• D. Induced drag and is greatly affected by changes in airspeed.

Answer: (D)

Induced drag is the portion of drag created by producing lift. It comes from the wingtip vortices that form when the wing deflects air downward to generate lift. For a given weight, the amount of lift required changes with speed: at lower speeds you must fly with a higher lift coefficient, which strengthens the vortices and increases induced drag; at higher speeds the required lift coefficient drops, vortices weaken, and induced drag decreases. In other words, this drag component is directly tied to lift production and varies significantly with airspeed, being much higher at slow speeds and much lower at high speeds.

Induced drag is the portion of drag created by producing lift. It comes from the wingtip vortices that form when the wing deflects air downward to generate lift. For a given weight, the amount of lift required changes with speed: at lower speeds you must fly with a higher lift coefficient, which strengthens the vortices and increases induced drag; at higher speeds the required lift coefficient drops, vortices weaken, and induced drag decreases. In other words, this drag component is directly tied to lift production and varies significantly with airspeed, being much higher at slow speeds and much lower at high speeds.