Mean aerodynamic chord is defined as which distance?

• A. The maximum distance between wing tips.
• B. The distance from the wing root to the tip.
• C. The average distance from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing.
• D. The average wing chord length.

Answer: (C)

Mean aerodynamic chord is the average chord length of the wing as seen by the airflow. It represents the distance from the leading edge to the trailing edge averaged along the wing planform (weighting by how much area each section contributes). This single representative chord accounts for how the wing narrows from root to tip and is used to locate the aerodynamic center and relate the wing’s lift distribution to the aircraft’s center of gravity. The other ideas describe span, half-span, or a generic average that doesn’t specifically capture the wing’s chord distribution, whereas the mean aerodynamic chord specifically means the average distance from leading edge to trailing edge across the wing.