Calculating Coefficient of Lift: Angle of Attack of 7°

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    Coefficient Lift
AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the coefficient of lift (Cl) at an angle of attack of 7°. The original calculation led to a Cl value of 7.3, which was deemed too high. It was identified that the confusion arose from misinterpreting units, specifically between pounds-force and pounds-mass. Correcting for the standard atmospheric density of 0.000889378 slugs per cubic foot, the adjusted Cl value is approximately 0.23 after dividing by 32.2. This highlights the importance of unit conversion in aerodynamic calculations.
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1. Homework Statement
https://i.imgur.com/tG9unNs.png
tG9unNs.png


2. Homework Equations
in picture below

3. The Attempt at a Solution
https://i.imgur.com/egZC3Ay.jpg
egZC3Ay.jpg

I calculated the angle of attack is "7", yet the answer is "1", which implies the coefficient of lift is about 0.2 from the answer. I am not sure where of my answer have got mistake...
can anyone help?
thank you very much!
 
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I think there is a problem of slugs versus lbs. Standard atmosphere has density 0.000889378 slugs/cubic foot, not lbs/cubic foot. Using your numbers, I get Cl = 7.3, which is way too high. But dividing by 32.2 gives Cl = 0.23
 
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Thank you very much!
FactChecker said:
Standard atmosphere has density 0.000889378 slugs/cubic foot, not lbs/cubic foot.

It is because https://i.imgur.com/a43giFt.png is what I have got in my assignment and I misunderstood lb(f) as lb(m) represented by lb in the question.
a43giFt.png

So, I do not need to multiply 32.2 on the right side.

FactChecker said:
But dividing by 32.2 gives Cl = 0.23

Thank you so much for reminding me!
 
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