Too fast vs too slow

At 12:29 08 May 2013, Roel Baardman wrote:
Your opinion would have been correct if the polar was a straight line,
but it isn't...

I was trying to say that, since the shape of the curve on both sides of
the
theoretical optimal point is symmetric, it does not really matter.
Optimal
+10kts gives roughly the same L/D as Optimal
-10kts.


Furthermore, I think John Cochrane hits the nail on the head here
(again).

Roel


But the polar curve is not symmetric about the point of intersection with
the tangent that passes through the origin, ie the maximum glide - we're
not talking about min sink here.

Infact, I bet you will achieve a better glide ratio if you fly 10 knots
slower than best glide than 10 knots faster (in still air).

we're not talking about min sink here.

This sums up my error quite nicely. Thanks for correcting me!

I think we are all missing a big part of the equation...

How bad do you have to pee?

Boggs