For those who think it silly and or useless let's take a look at where this nifty little idea just might have come from. Sure we see it on RC pattern planes now, and we know they use some pretty slick technology to design their aircraft. If it doesnt benefit the flight characteristics it isnt going on the plane. That is an old Bob G stand by as well. He said it time and time again. He even painted all his large planes with a tiny airbrush as to keep the finish as small and meaningless as far as weight gain was concerned but that is for another time.
A while back in F-1 racing when cameras were first placed on the cars they were placed on top of the roll bar or on the side of the roll bar area just above the drivers head. These cameras were considered a unwanted drag on the car. They were then placed inside a small wing that stuck out on the side or rested directly on top of the roll bar. This symmetrical little wing actually helped the air flow over the rear wing and created more down force. More down force means less braking needed when approaching a turn. You can hold your speed just a teeny tiny bit longer than your opponent. Not all cars had cameras at first so not everyone had the little wings. Well when the news came out that there was an advantage the ruling body gave them all wings just atop the air intake.
This tiny little insignificant wing is extremely important in the most advanced form of auto racing on the planet today. Simply put the wing cleans up the trashy air coming from the front of the car. It isnt that wide so it cant catch all the junk but it is significant enough to make a huge impact on lap times and ultimately winning and losing a race. We know these teams spend millions of dollars and 100s of hours in the wind tunnels testing wing placement and effect. If it didnt help the car they would figure out a way to build in the camera instead of externally mounting it.
In RC pattern you have large ships with lots of front side area and large rudders. They rely heavily on their rudders for portions of their pattern. If these little wings can help make the rudder more responsive and efficient/effective it sure isnt that big of a deal to add one. The benefits far outweigh the extra care needed to to keep from knocking it off. I mean doesnt stick out any further than your gear and how often do you knock those off? And I for one think it looks cool.
I also do not think large canopies accomplish cleaning the air. Large canopies on thin fused planes create side area forward of the CG that will keep it balanced with the large rudder aft the CG and control weather veining. The canopy will not clean the air as it has no way of redirecting it and changing its course. It is simply a bump in the road the air must go around/over and can simply float away or swirl its way down the fuse.
Look at the photos I have added of the F-1 cars of recent years. The 2nd one is the 2009 car of Ferrari. The F-60, very MEAN!. These cars have some crazy looking wings all over the place. They all do the job of keeping the car glued to the track. The little one on top keeps the air clean as it goes back towards the rear wing. As the air comes off the front of the car it is swirling pretty badly and creating alot of positive and negative pressure. These other wings strategically placed aft the front suspension along the body redirect the air and clean/straighten it out making the rear wing and defuser more effective. Thus keeping the car glued to the track.
I have been toying with the idea of one of these wings for about 5 years now. As of late I have a plane with a horrible hitch in the 3rd turn of the hourglass. It simply falls apart and loses lift. Like the air is off the lifting surfaces. I am going to try some wing placement on that plane to see if it helps. Will be a while before I get to it but I will report back what I find.
While some will call it silly, useless, another thing to look out for. I applaud Kenny for looking around at what other forms of aerobatics are doing and trying to use something new, within the past few years, to his advantage and see if it actually works. Way to go, Kenny. Keep looking forward and not backward. I always hear "Nothing new in stunt in the last 30 years." I think I know why...
Topic: Kenny Stevens plane (Read 5406 times)