The angle formed by the chord line of the wing and a line parallel to the airplane's longitudinal axis is known as:

• A. Angle of Incidence
• B. Angle of Attack
• C. Bank angle
• D. Span

Answer: (A)

The angle of incidence is the geometric angle between the wing’s chord line and a line parallel to the airplane’s longitudinal axis. The chord line runs from the wing’s leading edge to its trailing edge, while the longitudinal axis runs nose to tail along the fuselage. This mounting angle is typically fixed during design to position the wing for efficient lift in the intended cruise attitude. It’s different from the angle of attack, which is the wing’s angle to the oncoming air and changes with speed and pitch; and it’s different from bank angle (tilt of the airplane around the fuselage) and span (distance from wingtip to wingtip). So the described angle is the angle of incidence.