Design > Stunt design
Unequal panels
Charlie Pate:
Many planes are built with the inboard wing panel longer than the outboard wing
panel.
The reason for this is said to equalise lift on both wings as the outboard panel
moves faster than the inboard panel.
If this be true, why doesn,t the same thing apply to the stab;or , why don,t we make the inside stab panel longer to give equal lift like the wing?
Just a thought.
minnesotamodeler:
I don't think anyone has an answer for you! I have heard this apparent inconsistency discussed before, but never with any kind of resolution. Maybe you ought to do some experimenting with it and see how (if) it affects flight characteristics.
--Ray
Tom Dugan:
Charlie,
I am far from the expert but I can tell you that Ray has summed it up in a few short sentences. This comes up in all the forums and there is definately a difference of opinion. I think you will see that it is the older models that have very obvious offset. The purpose was to create extra lift to counteract many of the forces acting on a CL plane. The plan or kit you are looking at probably has 2" offset and again is an older design kit. It seems that newer designs do not have offset and if they do it may be 1/2". In the forum discussions I have seen offset boils down to three choices and for the most part are personal preference. Those choices are:
1. Leave the offset in the kit as it was designed. The designer decided that it gives the plane the best flight characteristics.
2. Thinking about offset currently is that if you put offset in, only 1/2" is really needed.
3. No offset is needed.
These choices are what Ive taken away from the several threads that Ive read so far. I know this doesnt answer your question but current opinion is split just about evenly around these personal preference choices.
Thomas
Russell Shaffer:
I always thought it was to offset the weight of the lines. Same reason for tip weight. But I'm certainly no aeronautical engineer.
Brett Buck:
--- Quote from: Charlie Pate on June 08, 2006, 12:57:35 PM --- Many planes are built with the inboard wing panel longer than the outboard wing
panel.
The reason for this is said to equalise lift on both wings as the outboard panel
moves faster than the inboard panel.
If this be true, why doesn,t the same thing apply to the stab;or , why don,t we make the inside stab panel longer to give equal lift like the wing?
--- End quote ---
That's a very interesting thought. I have come to the opinion that this effect is responsible for the common need to have a larger outboard flap.
Brett
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