Mailing List lml@lancaironline.net Message #21750
From: Gary Casey <glcasey@adelphia.net>
Sender: Marvin Kaye <marv@lancaironline.net>
Subject: Re: vg's
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2003 10:39:39 -0500
To: <lml@lancaironline.net>
<<It doesn't seem to affect normal flight.

> It would seem that the generators would ruin the laminar flow at reduced
> angles of attack, as in cruise?>>

If the first comment is true, then it leads me to believe that our "NLF"
wings aren't as laminar as we would like and laminar flow would not normally
extend past where the vg's would be mounted.  Or the benefits of having
laminar flow extend further back are not great enough to be measured.  Or,
as Scott said, the word "seem" shows up in both comments so I should ignore
both?

<<Vertical surfaces don't have a similar problem since reattachment of the
air on both sides is the concern.>>

I don't understand that comment.  I would think we only care about
reattaching the flow across the vertical one side only - but since we don't
know WHICH side we will need we have to put the vg's on both.  On horizontal
surfaces we can predict which side is required so we only put them on one
side.  I'm guessing there are competition aerobatic planes with vg's on both
sides of the wing?  Another related question:  I walked around a Citation
the other day and noticed that the rudder has a T-shaped aluminum extrusion
riveted to the trailing edge of the rudder - looked like a "fix" to get more
rudder sensitivity by simulating a wider trailing edge, compensating for
boundary layer thickness, just like our ailerons.  Why do our elevators and
rudders have pointed trailing edges while the ailerons have blunt ones?

Gary Casey
(off to work on my enginecycle after I use a motor to start it - next week
jetting off to Cartown.  Fixing the English language one word at a time..)


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