Dimensions and Ground Clearances

Before the aeroplane ever moves you need to know how much space it occupies — through a hangar door, between two parked wings, over a taxiway kerb. The three-view figures are approximate by the manual's own statement, and every one of them carries a condition worth reading twice.

At a glance

• Wing span (strobe lights installed)33 ft 4 in
• Overall length24 ft 1 in
• Maximum height (nose gear depressed, tyres and nose strut properly inflated, flashing beacon installed)8 ft 6 in
• Horizontal tail span10 ft 0 in
• Main wheel track7 ft 7 1/4 in
• Wheel base length58 in
• Propeller ground clearance12 in
• Wing area160 sq ft
• Maximum turning radius (pivot point to outboard wing tip)24 ft 8 in

Figure: Principal dimensions (redrawn).

The conditions attached to each figure

Two of these numbers change with how the aeroplane is fitted or how it is sitting, and the manual says so explicitly rather than leaving you to work it out.

Read the fine print

• Wing span — the 33 ft 4 in figure is quoted with strobe lights installed, so it is the span including those wing tip fittings.

• Maximum height — 8 ft 6 in applies with the nose gear depressed, with all tyres and the nose strut properly inflated, and with the flashing beacon installed. A soft nose tyre or a flat strut does not lower the tail; it raises it.

Track, wheel base and turning

Main wheel track is the distance across between the two main wheels, 7 ft 7 1/4 in. Wheel base length — the fore-and-aft distance between the nose wheel and the mains — is 58 inches. Together these define how tightly the aeroplane can be turned and how much lateral room it needs when it swings.

The turning figure the manual gives on the three-view is a maximum turning radius of 24 ft 8 in, measured from the pivot point out to the outboard wing tip. That is the swept circle, not the path of the wheels: it is the number that decides whether a wing tip clears the aeroplane parked beside you.

Wing area

The wing measures 160 square feet. It is the divisor behind the wing loading figure quoted elsewhere in the general data, so it is worth carrying alongside the maximum weight.

Check yourself

• What is the wing span, and what fitting is the quoted figure measured with?

• Three conditions attach to the 8 ft 6 in maximum height. What are they?

• What is the difference between main wheel track and wheel base length, and what is each figure?

• How much propeller ground clearance does the aeroplane have?

• Between which two points is the 24 ft 8 in turning radius measured?

Study aid — always fly your aircraft's current AFM/POH.