Aileron / flap corner drag ?

tango4 wrote:

Here's the basics of my idea.

Looking down on the wing in planform.

Imagine an aileron inboard end was cut at an angle of about 30 degrees to
the chord rather than the traditional 90 and the wing box ( or adjacent
flap ) was cut back at an opposite 30 degrees. The view from above would be
of a trailing edge with a 60 degree trianglular 'bite' missing. Now take a
triangular piece of aileron section that fills the 'bite' and at its apex
install a ball joint. Into the rear of the aileron spar mount a ball socket
to match the one on the triangle. Now you have a triangle section filling
the gap and free to rotate long the ships longitudinal axis. ( gee a picture
would work wonders here !)

By installing a mylar seal along the ( almost chordwise ) edges of the
aileron and wing (or adacent flap ) such that a sliding seal is made with
the triangular piece you might get an aileron / flap joint that doesn't kick
off that vortex.


The triangular piece should increase its width when the aileron is deflected,
or the mylar should fill the gap instead, but how would it remain flush with
both (almost) joining surfaces with a higly changing angle between them?

Anyway this may change the vortex but not eliminate it, it would only be spread
more evenly on a wider distance. The existence of the vortex is inherent to
the change in lift which is the purpose of the aileron or flap: the change in lift is
also a change in circulation around the wing, and the difference of circulation
must go somewhere, this is the vortex.