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Old July 10th 04, 04:26 PM
Peter Stickney
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In article ,
(Tracy White) writes:

I'm not sure if it is the answer - but fitting gull wings (whether
inverted or not) means that the wing root joins the fuselage at approx
90 deg - therebye eliminating the need for a large, drag-producing
wing-to-fuselage fillet.


Uhhh no. The fillets were there to DECREASE drag.


That's only true up to a point - A wing/fuselage joint that isn't at
right angles produces quite a bit of Interference Drag, as the
differing airflows try to sort themselves out. Filleting can ease
that transition.

You only need fillets on high or low-winged a/c


Fillets are used to smooth out airflow and thus decrease drag. The air
over a wing is moving at a higher velocity than the air over the
fuselage, and when the streams mix you get turbulence and drag. The
fillets work to counteract this interaction and the drag it causes.


True as far as it goes, but fillets also add wetted area, and increase
Parasite Drag. They're only drag reduction tools when they are
required, and only if used in moderation. It's all a balancing act,
after all - the designer is balancing out the drag increase casued by
the fillet itself, vs. the reduction in interference drag. The
decision made with the Corsair was to reduce the Interference Drag by
acheiving, as much as possible, a wing-fuselage joint perpendicular to
the fuselage, (The inverted gull wing) with a minimum of filleting,
thus reducing Parasite Drag.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster