Why don't wings have dimples?
Peter Dohm wrote:
...
Well, I already know a lot of the rules of thumb for drag reduction,
especially with laminar flow, and that is my first choice for choosing or
building an airplane.
I am also interested in general aerodynamics, and am somewhat intrigued by
the issue of dimples. Particularly, grooves and dimples could be quite
interesting as related to propellers. Regrettably, there is a /very/ finite
limit to the percentage of time I can devote to that, so my progress may be
gradual.
Check with the powered paraglider people. I've been told that
some of their props have a groove running along the crowned
face of the blade.
A prop is just a wing rotating rapidly around the wing root. But the
effective airspeed of a prop appproaches Mach 1, where compressibility
becomes important.
A supersonic prop would be interesting....
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FF
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