– Why doesn’t a fuselage block all the air from a propeller on a single prop aircraft?

Question

For example, in a single prop plane like the Cessna 172, I would assume there is a lot of drag on the fuselage from the propeller pushing air on it. Why isn’t that a big concern?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

oh, drag is certainly a concern. ‘prop wash’ actually spirals around the plane, more causing the plane to yaw. the so-called ‘parasitic drag’ you refer to is also from the friction of the relative wind as the plane flys through the air. this is why you see things like a nice shiney surface with flush rivets to cut down on those invariable wind resistances.