Aesquire
Well-Known Member
Perhaps the relevant part is that cooling drag is important to a surprising degree, as you make induced and parasite drag less, and speed increases.
And WW2 was where the power levels rose above 1000 hp. and speeds ran into compressability of the air that started to require a new paradigm of aerodynamic understanding. Cooling drag was nearly as important as the airfoils that were evolving to delay the supersonic shock wave, for real world speed.
That's why the Spitfire, with it's thin airfoil, was, with THE SAME ENGINE a faster plane than the Hurricane with it's thicker wing. You weren't getting near as close to the sonic limits with the earlier drag rise on the older, but still very good airfoil shape. And since it's a rare homebuilt aircraft that approaches the speed of sound, the lessons of the WW2 planes is still very important to grasp to improve, albeit incrementally, the performance we get out of a 10th the power.
And WW2 was where the power levels rose above 1000 hp. and speeds ran into compressability of the air that started to require a new paradigm of aerodynamic understanding. Cooling drag was nearly as important as the airfoils that were evolving to delay the supersonic shock wave, for real world speed.
That's why the Spitfire, with it's thin airfoil, was, with THE SAME ENGINE a faster plane than the Hurricane with it's thicker wing. You weren't getting near as close to the sonic limits with the earlier drag rise on the older, but still very good airfoil shape. And since it's a rare homebuilt aircraft that approaches the speed of sound, the lessons of the WW2 planes is still very important to grasp to improve, albeit incrementally, the performance we get out of a 10th the power.