jl wrote:
Wanna see an airplane break up from flutter?

Watch the movie clip:

http://www.velozia.com/?p=1387

BTW, the Auguste Raspet Memorial Department of Aeronautical
Engineering at Mississippi State University does flutter testing on
airplanes, including experimentals. Bring your checkbook.

White Lightning designer and Citadel-educated engineer Nick Jones had
the White Lightning successfully tested there.

I have balanced a set of flight controls with lead embedded in the
leading edges--- rudder, elevator, ailerons --- for the White
Lightning; and no, they are not completely balanced, just enough to
avoid flutter up to about 350 kts. This is a 220 kt. cruise aircraft.


Great post! That flying wing breakup looked kinda like a divergent
pitch oscillation to me. There is nothing like a first hand account
of a surface balancing - any idea what proportion of the control
surface weight was balanced? That would be an interesting value!

Regards

Brian W