I'd be interested in any insight regarding the aerodynamic impact of design choices made on the Sonex. A recent post by VB mentioning Pete Buck made me think that some folks may have heard him comment of some of this.
- Fuselage shape/lift: I've wondered if the fuselage shape was designed/does provide appreciable lift. It is somewhat airfoil shaped, and the bottom is flat, flat. While I'd guess that the very low AR of this "wing" would limit the amount of lift produced, it is pretty impressive how fast the application of power arrests a sink rate in this plane--well before there's any detectable change in the airspeed
- Drag due to the shape of the aft wing/fuselage intersection: The Sonex fuselage begins to taper toward the tail before the TE of the wing. As a general rule, this practice gets a thumbs down from most aircraft designers due to drag considerations. I'm sure this would have been considered during the initial sketch of the plane, so would be interested in any more info.
- Wingspan: My back-of-the-envelope noodling indicates that (as expected) a few more feet of span, even with the same wing area, would produce a significant increase in climb rate from a 75-80HP VW engine. Was the 22' span simply selected as a conscious tradeoff to get good roll rate/crisp handling for this lightweight sportplane?
- Fuselage shape/lift: I've wondered if the fuselage shape was designed/does provide appreciable lift. It is somewhat airfoil shaped, and the bottom is flat, flat. While I'd guess that the very low AR of this "wing" would limit the amount of lift produced, it is pretty impressive how fast the application of power arrests a sink rate in this plane--well before there's any detectable change in the airspeed
- Drag due to the shape of the aft wing/fuselage intersection: The Sonex fuselage begins to taper toward the tail before the TE of the wing. As a general rule, this practice gets a thumbs down from most aircraft designers due to drag considerations. I'm sure this would have been considered during the initial sketch of the plane, so would be interested in any more info.
- Wingspan: My back-of-the-envelope noodling indicates that (as expected) a few more feet of span, even with the same wing area, would produce a significant increase in climb rate from a 75-80HP VW engine. Was the 22' span simply selected as a conscious tradeoff to get good roll rate/crisp handling for this lightweight sportplane?
