What droop tips do has become fairly well known. It's what winglets do on the big boys.
A significant source of drag is when the flow over the wings separates at the tip. It takes power to make those big, nasty, vortices! Take a swizzle stick and stir your drink and note that there is a bit of extra turbulence at the end of the stick. Droop tips and winglets act as fences to reduce the drag caused by the flow separation, and to smooth the departure of the air from the wing. Yes, there might be a bit more parasitic drag from the greater surface area. But it is overcome, in spades, by the reduced induced drag and marginally increased lift that the droop or winglet configuration yields. An it isn't 'something for nothing.' It costs material and money. Sort of analagous to wheel pants. Yeah, that's it... ....wheel pants for a wing. Greg __________________________________________________________________________ ______ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
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