Winglets are certainly more useful on low aspect ratio wings, but there is a reason for gliders to use winglets: International competition categories are based on maximum wingspan. The standard class, for example, is limited to a 15m span(about 49ft). So the winglet in these cases is a way of...
Dear rlc747capt,
Allow me to join this discussion briefly because the subject is somehow familiar to me. My company studied many different winglet configurations - some of them were cfd´ed, some of them were actually flight tested to reduce induced drag on a business jet that was derived from...
We are designing the installation of specialized equipment in a helicopter and we have to calculate the loads due to inflight accelerations as per FAR 27.
I am pretty familiar with the calculation of gust loads on a fixed-wing aircraft, but doing this kind of calculation for a helicopter is a...
Spoilers are different from ailerons in that ailerons generate roll moment that is pretty linear to their deflection; not so with spoilers. Spoilers generate very little roll moment if the deflection is small enough to keep the spoiler inside the boundary layer, but as soon as the deflection is...
Winglets are rather interesting. However there is no simple rule to determine if the winglet is beneficial or not.
Our experience with winglets showed that there are many factors involved. At high subsonic speeds care must be taken to avoid local shock waves; the twist, camber and tickness...
Slice,
Let me comment about the two arguments that you mentioned:
1 - The canard wing does not act as a stabilizer. As a matter of fact it is destabilizing. The stabilizing element in a canard aircraft is the wing itself. The puspose of the canard is control only, not stability.
Yes, it adds...
davidjh answers are perfect. I would just add that the 737 accidents (there were two - one in the US, one in the Far East)were caused by rudder runaway caused by an internal failure of the rudder PCU (the hydraulic servo actuator). The cause was found by an ALPA (Airline Pilots Association)...
