In aircraft design, the “cross-sectional area” of the airframe is a common parameter used for design or analysis. Cross-sectional area is a concept more commonly applied to components that have a flow of substance through them, like engines, nozzles, or ducts. The cross-sectional area of such components is used to calculate parameters like mass flow rate.
- ṁ is the mass flow rate in kilograms per second (kg/s).
- ρ is the air density in kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m³).
- A is the cross-sectional area of Airframe (in square meters, m²).
- V is the velocity of the Airframe (in meters per second, m/s).