I only recently came across the google patent search engine and what a goldmine of the useful, the interesting, the fascinating and the ridiculous it is!
I have only scratched the surface, but there ought to be a ton of useful ideas hidden in there for us experimenters.
Here is just one:
HIGH-LIFT AIRPLANE - Google Patents
Basically it shows what we probably all know; that propeller diameter is a factor of vital importance to airplanes. It is like free horsepower and yes, it does cause complications with the landing gear when taken to extremes, but the average prop on most aircraft is generating a fraction of what the engine is capable of on terms of thrust.
I will endeavor to pass along any useful nuggets of information of an aeronautical nature as I troll through a hundred years or so of clever ( and silly) ideas. Is looking at patents the ultmate in nerd-dom...?
I have only scratched the surface, but there ought to be a ton of useful ideas hidden in there for us experimenters.
Here is just one:
HIGH-LIFT AIRPLANE - Google Patents
Basically it shows what we probably all know; that propeller diameter is a factor of vital importance to airplanes. It is like free horsepower and yes, it does cause complications with the landing gear when taken to extremes, but the average prop on most aircraft is generating a fraction of what the engine is capable of on terms of thrust.
I will endeavor to pass along any useful nuggets of information of an aeronautical nature as I troll through a hundred years or so of clever ( and silly) ideas. Is looking at patents the ultmate in nerd-dom...?
