wake vortex

English
An aircraft-generated wake vortex made visible by artificially-generated smoke.

Noun

wake vortex (plural wake vortices)

  1. (aviation, aerodynamics) One of the paired vortices formed behind any heavier-than-air aircraft when producing lift, created by the velocity differential between the air being accelerated downwards by the wings (or other lifting surface), on the one hand, and the unaccelerated air beyond the aircraft's wingtips, on the other.

See also
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.