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Old March 21st 20, 01:40 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Eric Greenwell[_4_]
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Default Helium bubbles used to show bird aerodynamics

Tango Whisky wrote on 3/21/2020 1:37 AM:
Absolutely. On a modern glider, this slope goes through zero at the angle of attack of best L/D (zero lift = minimum drag). Below that speed, the tailplane produces lift, above it produces downward force.

Curiously, that is not (we're told) how the model gliders are trimmed: the tail is
lifting at minimum sink. That seems inefficient to have a small wing producing
lift instead the big wing, with it's lower drag from a larger aspect ratio.

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Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
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