Kyle Boatright wrote:
"Richard Riley" wrote in message
...

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 21:57:55 -0400, "Kyle Boatright"
wrote:

:
:Fortunately (unfortunately?) the pitot tube is probably the easiest "big"
:thing on the airframe I can streamline without hacking up the cowl to
reduce
:cooling drag or taking some other *extreme* measure. I had considered
:fairing the pitot, the two fuel vents, the two fuel strainers, and the 4
:aileron brackets that protrude into the airstream. My guess is that all
of
:these items together only amount to maybe 3 to 5 times the drag of the
pitot
:tube. Bottom line, if the combination of our math skills is correct, I'm
:lookin' at less than a 1/2 mph improvement? If that's the case, I've got
:MUCH better ways to spend my time. ;-)

Are your gear legs faired? I assume you have a good set of wheel
pants.


Yes on both counts. My airplane is pretty slick. The 175 mph figure I used
in my original note is my typical cruise in the 60- 65% power range on an
O-320 fixed pitch RV-6. I'd love to find another few mph without doing
major surgery on the airplane. Sounds like that ain't gonna happen.

Probably not. If it was easy, Van's would likely have included it in
the design.


Matt