Doubling the airspeed in level flight affects parasite drag how?

Doubling the airspeed in level flight affects parasite drag how?

• A. Drag quadruples.
• B. Drag remains the same.
• C. Drag halves.
• D. Drag doubles.

Answer: (A)

Parasite drag increases with dynamic pressure, which grows with the square of speed. The usual expression is D_p = ½ ρ V^2 C_d S, so when speed doubles, V^2 becomes four times larger. That makes parasite drag four times greater. The total drag includes induced drag too, but the question focuses on parasite drag, so the correct result is quadrupling.

Parasite drag increases with dynamic pressure, which grows with the square of speed. The usual expression is D_p = ½ ρ V^2 C_d S, so when speed doubles, V^2 becomes four times larger. That makes parasite drag four times greater. The total drag includes induced drag too, but the question focuses on parasite drag, so the correct result is quadrupling.