On 26 Jan 2004 18:09:18 -0800, (Bob Kuykendall)
wrote:

As Gary Osoba else wrote, the wing thickness is generally more of a
structural thing than an aerodynamic concern. More thickness gives you
better stiffness/weight, since the stiffness of a beam is relative to
the cube of its depth - or something thereabouts.

In addition to Gary's good suggestion about the Sailplane
Homebuilder's Association: there's a couple of YahooGroups forums that
are good for topics like the ones you raise. There's glidertech for
design/development issues, and HomeSail for construction issues. Of
course, there's a lot of overlap between the two. You can contact me
via email for subscription info for both.

The Falco web site, http://www.seqair.com/, has a PDF version of a
book its designer wrote on glider design. Look under 'The Glider' Its
a pretty old book, but looks to be advocating the design approach Bob
talked about.

Is that book of interest still?

BTW the site's worth a visit just to drool over the Falco, a very
pretty design.


--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :