On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:00:54 -0500, Morgans wrote:


Larry Smith wrote:

Aluminum and compound curves don't mix.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bull****.

Just because most who homebuild have no English wheel, or shrinking hammer
skills, or that kit makers have not invested in the molds and dies to
stamp parts, does not mean that they can not be done. Do you mean that
the Mustang and Spitfire have no compound curves? Every one I have seen
are loaded with them.

Also, your comment that aluminum and laminar flows don't mix is equally
full of ****. Mustang was laminar flow, right?

As usual, you are in left field.

Well, I hate to defend Larry, as I was on the other side of this arguement
from him, but I think you've gove a hit over the top here.

We were generally talking about homebuilt aircraft, and it is pretty rare
to find any aluminum ones with much in the way of compound curves. The
only kit that comes to mind was the Questair Venture - it performed well,
but didn't survive long in the market.

As far as the Mustang and laminar flow - yes it had a very early laminar
flow airfoil that worked well in the wind tunnel. But it was later
concluded that they didn't really get that much laminar flow in service
due to manufacturing imperfections, etc. See:

http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4305/ch4.htm

"...practical experience with this and other aircraft using advanced NACA
sections in the 1940s also showed that the airfoil did not perform quite
as spectacularly in flight as in the laboratory. Manufacturing tolerances
were off far enough, and maintenance of wing surfaces in the field
careless enough, that some significant points of aerodynamic similarity
between the operational airfoil and the accurate, highly polished, and
smooth model that had been tested in the controlled environment of the
wind tunnel were lost."

--
Kevin Horton RV-8 (finishing kit)
Ottawa, Canada
http://go.phpwebhosting.com/~khorton/rv8/
e-mail: khorton02(_at_)rogers(_dot_)com