An aircraft wing comprising an upper surface; and two or more spoilers pivotally attached to the upper surface, wherein at least two adjacent ones of the spoilers are separated by a gap, and wherein the width of the gap is: greater than 1 cm; and sufficiently small to choke the flow of air through the gap such that for at least one flight regime with the adjacent spoilers deployed, the average air flow speed through the gap is less than 10% of the true air speed.
The reduced size of the spoilers reduces the spanwise wing loading and the spoiler hinge moment, whilst providing a net aerodynamic effect (in terms of destroying lift over the wing) similar to that of a conventional spoiler array with no gaps.