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  1. Y

    Turbo "Normalization" vs a steady hand

    As I understand it, a T-N'd engine merely sets a wastegate to open above SL pressure, or roughly 30". So no boost above what an NA aircraft gets at SL. The intention is to give you that SL performance up to 20k ft. without the reduced engine life (or, albeit, extra power) of a boosted (33"+ MP)...
  2. Y

    Turbo "Normalization" vs a steady hand

    Is there a difference, from the engine's point of view, between a turbo-normalized engine and a pilot that chooses to never exceed 30" on a conventional turbo?
  3. Y

    Data or experience on aerodynamic penalties of seams and rivets?

    Hi folks. I'm after what impact seams and rivets (as with wood or aluminum skins) have on a 140-150 kt design cruise, all else being equal of course. Is this speed so low as to be negligible? I'm guessing not, since modern sailplane designers seem to pursue ultra-smooth lines for 60-70 knots...
  4. Y

    Aerodynamic impact of small, spanwise creases, gaps, channels etc?

    All things retractable, detachable, openable, etc. invariably imply small interruptions in an otherwise (potentially) smooth body. So I'm wondering if there is a rule of thumb, or just common knowledge about how influential spanwise interruptions are, particularly if their width and depth are...
  5. Y

    Vehicle Sketch Pad mystery...is it just urban legend?

    Norman,Be careful what you google for. Try searching for "skinny peanut butter" at either of those sites. Apparently they have that download too.
  6. Y

    Vehicle Sketch Pad mystery...is it just urban legend?

    I can find any number of documents discussing NASA's VSP software and, cruelly, urging its readers to explore it without providing so much as a clue about where one might find a link. Is it real, or just legend?
  7. Y

    Aerodynamics and locating a source for engine cooling.

    Assume for a moment that I was designing a cigar shaped pusher, with the engine mounted somewhere in the rear of the cigar (really, it's just a cigar). Where might one source an airstream for engine cooling, so as to minimize the interruption of laminar flow?
  8. Y

    Wanted: Raymer's "Simplified..." and Abbott & Doenhoff's "Theory of Wing Sections".

    As long as it's readable, the condition isn't of much concern to me. Thanks.
  9. Y

    Looking for info, research or discussions on reflected or deflected propwash

    Well, there's the loss of streamwise thrust (to lateral or spiral thrust), and there's also the p-factor which I imagine must be a nuisance (or maybe not). As I've read, these were the targets of contra-rotating props--essentially an alley-oop of thrust. But I wasn't aware (per Dana) that the...
  10. Y

    Looking for info, research or discussions on reflected or deflected propwash

    Does anyone know of any experimentation done with some sort of propwash corrector or deflector that would function like a contra rotating prop system? If effective, it would sure be lighter and simpler than one. To clarify, I'm imagining something like the "settling chamber" in a wind tunnel.
  11. Y

    Wing-tip losses and fences

    I'm looking for info about just how much lift is lost to a wing tip (i.e. 2D model vs. 3D reality), and how much a well designed wing-tip fence can mitigate that effect. Any thoughts, links, references, etc. are appreciated.
  12. Y

    Tandem wing design discussion

    Not to be trivial, but, how would you take off with rear wing elevators/elevons? Can someone elaborate a little on "asymmetrical stalling"? Does this refer to the risk of stalling by over elevating, and then adding loss of roll control?
  13. Y

    "Sphere of influence" of a wing?

    For lack of a better term, I'm trying to find out how one calculates the downwash angle, and the vertical range of the downwash. I know the latter is technically infinite, at least in-so-far-as a butterfly wing changes the course of world history. But if I were interested in knowing what the...
  14. Y

    Question about coplanar wings

    With canards, tandems, DeLannes, etc. that have coplanar wings, does the foreward wing not complicate the stream for the rearward, at least more than just trivially? If the downward stream of the fore were to feed the underside of the aft (more so than the topside, anyway), would it not create...
  15. Y

    Safety of outboard floats on seaplanes?

    Or the Trident Trigull. Good point about the Dock. Good points all around, as usual. I only ask because, well, google my username and "wing tip"--that's why. Thanks for the, uh...tips.
  16. Y

    Safety of outboard floats on seaplanes?

    I see. So then, what's the disadvantage to these? Seems that being that far out, one could design a much smaller float, and possibly integrate it into a wing fence. Thanks for the answer.
  17. Y

    Safety of outboard floats on seaplanes?

    I see that this site has several planes that include floats that are located at the outer extremes of the wings. I'd have thought that this could spell disaster if a wing tip dropped unexpectedly, and at an inopportune time.
  18. Y

    What to consider when choosing Control mechanisms?

    So if I can ask a potentially meaningless question--how many links from input to surface are too many for a push-rod system in a small, 2-4 seater? Obviously, I know full well there won't be a magic number, but would 5 rods, 4 cranks, and 3 90-degree angles start to get sluggish? I've noticed...
  19. Y

    What to consider when choosing Control mechanisms?

    I like the idea of push-rods as well, but how to cleanly deal with the translations from linear to angular motion? Won't the change in the mechanical advantage of, say, a bell-crank return a less fluid feeling (i.e. resistance & travel proportionate to the sine of the linkage angle)? In...
  20. Y

    What to consider when choosing Control mechanisms?

    Why choose cables, or push-pull cables, or torque tubes, or push-pull rods, or....? I mean, cables stretch, rods are heavy, push-pulls are...I dunno...frictiony? So how would you make your choice if starting a design from scratch? I'll narrow this a bit and assume we're not aspiring over 200...
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