On May 16, 8:31*am, ContestID67 wrote:
I am not an aerodynamicist and therefore I could be wrong (and
probably am), but I have always thought of airbrakes being terminal
devices. That is, they will limit speed, such as in a dive or on
glidepath. My old BG-12 had terminal flaps and with them all the way
out, you could not go more than about 60 kts no matter where the nose
was pointed. It has been 25 years since I flew one, but if I recall
correctly, doesn't the 1-34 also has terminal dive brakes.

By extrapolation therefore, spoilers are speed devices which spoil
lift and slow the aircraft down but do not limit dive speed.
Airbrakes will limit speed, and that is why you have to be so careful
not to open them when you are too fast.

If I am wrong, so what? I am an idiot anyway.

I spotted the following statement in Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoiler...%28aircraft%29

"Spoilers differ from airbrakes in that airbrakes are designed to
increase drag while making little change to lift, while spoilers
greatly reduce lift while making only a moderate increase in drag."

I had always used the terms spoilers and airbrakes interchangeable.
This statement makes it seem like they are not. *So what does the
typical sailplane have? *Spoilers or airbrakes?

- John "67" DeRosa