Definition
A wing planform whose chord (the distance from leading edge to trailing edge) decreases gradually from the wing root to the wingtip, producing a wing that is wider where it meets the fuselage and narrower at the tip. A tapered wing offers a useful compromise between the structural simplicity of a rectangular wing and the aerodynamic efficiency of an elliptical wing, with reduced drag and weight compared to a rectangular wing of the same area.
Plain English
A wing that is wider where it joins the airplane and narrows toward the tip, rather than being the same width along its whole length.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of wing shape, lift, drag, and stall behavior in aircraft design and ground school aerodynamics.
Derivation
From the verb 'taper,' meaning to gradually narrow toward one end. The word originally referred to a candle that thinned toward its tip — a useful image for picturing the shape of the wing.
Why Pilots Care
Tapered wings improve lift distribution, lower induced drag, and often produce more favorable stall characteristics than rectangular wings.
Intuition Check
Tapered does not simply mean pointed. In aviation, it means the wing’s width changes from root to tip, usually becoming narrower toward the tip.
Example Sentence 1
The Piper Cherokee Warrior uses a tapered wing to improve efficiency over the earlier Hershey-bar rectangular wing.
Example Sentence 2
When selecting a cross-country airplane, the pilot noted that the tapered wing reduced fuel burn by lowering induced drag at cruise speeds.