Thom Riddle
Joined: 10 Jan 2006 Posts: 1597 Location: Buffalo, NY, USA (9G0)
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 6:18 am Post subject: No Title |
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Mike,
Most of what you say are the effects of shortening the wingspan are
true, except for the slower cruise speed. This argument raged on for
quite a while on the Titan Yahoo Group. Most of the Tornados come with
the 23.5' length wing. The one I had was the 20' wing. I had told the
group that my Titan with 20' wing and 80 hp 912UL was as fast or
faster than the more common ones with 23.5' wing and 100 hp 912ULS.
This created all kinds of arguments with explanations why a shorter
wing could not possibly be as fast as the longer wing. The basis for
the arguments was that due to the shorter wingspan, the angle of
attack would have to be greater to support the same weight at a given
speed, and thus be more draggy than the longer wing. There is a
smidgeon of truth in that but the effect of the tiny bit higher AOA is
much smaller than the REDUCED drag due to the shorter span.
I finally go the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison with a
23.5' wing Tornado w/ 912ULS engine vs. my 80 hp short wing Tornado.
Flying weight were within 30 lbs of the same. It turns out that my Vh
was identical to the other's Vh. We both had in-flight adjustable
props and set them for 5500 rpm at full throttle. My 80 hp short wing
was the same speed as the 100 hp long wing. Also, mine did not have
wheel pants and the other did.
Thom in Buffalo
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_________________ Thom Riddle
Buffalo, NY (9G0)
Don't worry about old age... it doesn't last very long.
- Anonymous |
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