In aircraft design, the “cross-sectional area” generally refers to the reference area or the frontal area of the aircraft. This is an important parameter used in aerodynamics to calculate various forces and coefficients.The formula for the cross-sectional area is relatively simple
- A = Cross sectional area of the Aircraft Design (a dimensionless value between 0 and 1)
- ṁ = Mass Flow Rate (in kilograms per second, kg/s)
- V = Velocity of the Aircraft Design (in cubic meters, m³)
- ρ = Density of the air or mixture (in kilograms per cubic meter, kg/m³)