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In aeronautics, the load factor is defined as the ratio of the lift of an aircraft to its weight 〔Clancy, section 5.22〕 〔Hurt, page 37〕 and represents a global measure of the stress ("load") to which the structure of the aircraft is subjected: : where: :''n'' = Load factor :''L'' = Lift :''W'' = Weight Since the load factor is the ratio of two forces, it is dimensionless. However, its units are traditionally referred to as g, because of the relation between load factor and apparent acceleration of gravity felt on board the aircraft. A load factor of one, or 1 g, represents conditions in straight and level flight, where the lift is equal to the weight. Load factors greater or less than one (or even negative) are the result of maneuvers or wind gusts.〔McCormick, p.464-468〕 == Load factor and g == The fact that the load factor is commonly expressed in ''g'' units does not mean that it is dimensionally the same as the acceleration of gravity, also indicated with ''g''. The load factor is strictly non-dimensional. The use of ''g'' units refers to the fact that an observer on board an aircraft will experience an ''apparent'' acceleration of gravity (i.e. relative to his frame of reference) equal to load factor times the acceleration of gravity. For example, an observer on board an aircraft performing a turn with a load factor of 2 (i.e. a 2 g turn) will see objects falling to the floor at twice the normal acceleration of gravity. In general, whenever the term ''load factor'' is used, it is formally correct to express it using numbers only, as in "a maximum load factor of 4". If the term ''load factor'' is omitted then ''g'' is used instead, as in "pulling a 3 g turn".〔Clancy, section 14.3〕 A load factor greater than 1 will cause the stall speed to increase by a factor equal to the square root of the load factor. For example, if the load factor is 2, the stall speed will increase by about 40%. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Load factor (aeronautics)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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