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Old July 12th 19, 10:44 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Senna Van den Bosch
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Default DG-101 - increase performance/sealing/winglets(?)

Op donderdag 11 juli 2019 23:27:24 UTC+2 schreef :
On Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 4:40:39 PM UTC-4, Nick Gilbert wrote:
Rudder, aileron and elevator (or trim tab if all-flying tail) are easy to do and should help. I've heard it said by people who know what they're talking about that with these old profiles it maybe useful to put turbulators on the top surface of the wing - but then it's a pain to clean & the potential difference is negligible anyway.

I've never seen a DG100/101 with winglets - perhaps DG may produce a NEO kit one day?

Something i've always wondered about with mine, there is clearly an extreme amount of washout at the wingtips - at anything above about 80 knots the tips begin to bend downward a large amount. Perhaps winglets might relieve some of the drag caused by the washout at high speed, while still retaining it's good manners?

Nick.


Sealing will give the best bang for the time and money, after getting the instruments working well and getting the CG in a good place.
Most of the airfoils of that vintage will benefit from turbulators on the bottom to slightly help the high speed portion of the polar.
The key from my experience with unflapped ships is to discipline yourself to not fly too fast and use the better glide angle that results to do less time climbing.
Nothing to do about the twist. Just enjoy the docile handling.
Many of the older ships can't get winglets due to bending issues, and more importantly stiffness in twist.
I say seal it up and enjoy a very nice glider. I had one for a short time..
FWIW
UH


Thanks! I will be contacting DG and SCT Terlet (where I bring my glider for ARC) for advice. I have seen some DG-100 with different wingtips than mine, wingtips more like the LS-4, with a very slight curve and narrowing to the end of the tip, where my DG's wingtips have some sort of block (about 1 inch) with a metal skid. Maybe it would be possible to replace these?