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Message
Is it just the fiberglass work people are avoiding, is it the
avoidance of the unknown (surely Rusty will have a go here???) What am I
missing?
Hi
Mike,
Fiberglass avoidance is
certainly a factor for me :-)
In looking at a
stock RV-3/4 cowl, it would appear that you could save all kinds of drag by
lopping off the cheeks, but that really doesn't work out to be true.
Everything I've heard about these teardrop shaped cheeks suggests that
they're almost a perfect shape, with virtually no drag penalty. The
main drag is the cooling airflow through them, which you can minimize if you
start archiving all of Ed's posts :-)
One of the most
compelling reasons for getting rid of the cheeks is simply
appearance. It would let everyone know that there's something
different under the cowl. The average observer would walk right past
most of the rotary powered planes without having a clue. That
can be good or bad I guess.
Cheers,
Rusty (hey, what's that
bright object in the sky... and why isn't it raining)
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