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#1
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Blended wing bodies and sailplanes...?
Watched a few shows on Discovery Wings this weekend that were discussing the
superior lift and handling of a blended wing body (BWB) design over a flying wing and traditional wing/fuselage design. Superior lift? Hmmm... Does anyone know of a BWB sailplane out there, or any research on one? Did a Google search and found nothing... Figure with the amazing weight savings composite sailplanes out there like the SparrowHawk have demonstrated, a BWB could probably be designed that would not have the weight penalties a larger lifitng body would require using traditional sailplane materials like aluminum or fiberglass. Just curious... -- ========== Robert Bates Austin, Texas - USA http://home.austin.rr.com/robsplace |
#2
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perhaps the Burnelli and Bowlus troup carrying glider projects of WWII.
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#3
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The concept sounds interesting. By blending the wing into what would otherwise
be the fuselage, the wing/fuselage interference is eliminated and thereby saving considerable drag. The glider trailer would be something to behold though, with a height of say, 10 foot? Note, the Genesis fuselage is 15 foot long. BWB assembly / disassembly, anyone? JJ Sinclair |
#4
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"Robert Bates" wrote in message ...
Watched a few shows on Discovery Wings this weekend that were discussing the superior lift and handling of a blended wing body (BWB) design over a flying wing and traditional wing/fuselage design. Superior lift? Hmmm... Just curious... My guess is that a Blended Wing Body is a superior trade off if you have a huge fuselage - as is the case for a large cargo jet such as a C-5 or a big passenger jet. This allows the huge fuselage to also generate lift, it appears to have a lot more wetted area. chris |
#5
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Earlier, "Robert Bates" wrote:
Watched a few shows on Discovery Wings this weekend that were discussing the superior lift and handling of a blended wing body (BWB) design over a flying wing and traditional wing/fuselage design... The way I understand it, BWB works best for carrying payload that you are at liberty to distribute spanwise. I think that glider pilots generally prefer to be more discrete... Bob K. |
#6
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Look into the ships built by the Horton Brothers.
John "Robert Bates" wrote in message .. . Watched a few shows on Discovery Wings this weekend that were discussing the superior lift and handling of a blended wing body (BWB) design over a flying wing and traditional wing/fuselage design. Superior lift? Hmmm... Does anyone know of a BWB sailplane out there, or any research on one? Did a Google search and found nothing... Figure with the amazing weight savings composite sailplanes out there like the SparrowHawk have demonstrated, a BWB could probably be designed that would not have the weight penalties a larger lifitng body would require using traditional sailplane materials like aluminum or fiberglass. Just curious... -- ========== Robert Bates Austin, Texas - USA http://home.austin.rr.com/robsplace |
#7
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In article ,
(chris) wrote: My guess is that a Blended Wing Body is a superior trade off if you have a huge fuselage - as is the case for a large cargo jet such as a C-5 or a big passenger jet. This allows the huge fuselage to also generate lift, it appears to have a lot more wetted area. NZ's CT/4 Airtrainer is a 2-seat piston powered basic trainer reputed to get something like 20% of the lift from the cockpit canopy. It's in service in NZ and Australia and also Hong Kong and Thailand. http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/atrainer.html Those who were at the '95 Worlds in Omarama may recall an aerobatic display by an RNZAF team in CT/4s. -- Bruce |
#8
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At 18:12 22 December 2003, Bruce Hoult wrote:
In article , (chris) wrote: NZ's CT/4 Airtrainer is a 2-seat piston powered basic trainer reputed to get something like 20% of the lift from the cockpit canopy. It's in service in NZ and Australia and also Hong Kong and Thailand. http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/atrainer.html Wow! At what price in drag?????????? |
#9
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On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 07:00:59 +1300, Bruce Hoult
wrote: In article , (chris) wrote: My guess is that a Blended Wing Body is a superior trade off if you have a huge fuselage - as is the case for a large cargo jet such as a C-5 or a big passenger jet. This allows the huge fuselage to also generate lift, it appears to have a lot more wetted area. NZ's CT/4 Airtrainer is a 2-seat piston powered basic trainer reputed to get something like 20% of the lift from the cockpit canopy. It's in service in NZ and Australia and also Hong Kong and Thailand. http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/atrainer.html Those who were at the '95 Worlds in Omarama may recall an aerobatic display by an RNZAF team in CT/4s. -- Bruce The BD4 we fly gets 13% of its lift from the fuselage which just happens to be about what the missing bit of wing would produce. Mike Borgelt |
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