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I was watching an airplane taking off when this question suddenly came to my mind: How can we estimate the pressure difference between the wings of a jet ?

I think it must be immense since it needs to support such a heavy craft in air. Maybe in the range of many thousand pascals, but how do we estimate it?

DanielSank
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InquisitiveMind
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2 Answers2

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Divide the weight of the plane by the planform area of the wing, a quantity also known as the wing loading of an airplane. You will find that the pressure difference is moderate, but your estimate is about right.

For a typical jet transport aircraft, you get a couple of thousand Pascal, yes. About 7,000 Pa for a Boeing 777 at maximum take-off weight. This may sound like a big number, but keep in mind that atmospheric pressure is about 100,000 Pa. For example, typical tire pressures for cars are about two and a half atmospheres or so above atmospheric pressure.

P.S.: A few examples of other aircraft are in this Wikipedia article.

Pirx
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There is a pressure difference of several thousand pascals. This (Enormous according to you) makes your heavy plane fly.