At 06:35 AM 4/1/98 EST, you wrote: >Dave > I am wondering what you mean by reflex the ailerons -- do you mean to drop >them down a few degrees what I would call drooping such as was on the Stinson >L-5 or the DH Caribou that had full span flaps also. I think that this was for >slow flight only but could have done something at cruise also. > Way back a TWA crew was experimenting with a few degrees of flap extension >and they had the circut breaker pulled for the leading edge devices and it was >working pretty good until the Flight Engineer came back in the cockpit and >didn't know what was happening and reset the breaker -- they lost control of >the a/c and over 20,000 feet -- before they could regain control -- plus one >of the leading edge devices seperated from the a/c. > They didn't fess up for a couple of years as to what exactly had happened >and then I don't know why because Boeing and the FAA had spent a gazillon >dollars trying to prove the leading edge devices could not deploy by accident. >Kind of ruined their careers when one of them told what really happened I >believe. I fly the 727 and we just went over all of the FAA investgation last >week on this incident. > I dont think that lowering the ailerons a few degrees for testing would be >very hard to do -- just rig it that way on the ground and go try it out -- it >might could help cruise and I don't see how it could hurt slow flight either. >kim >2523H >NC >Are you going to Sun & Fun?? Kim, No reflexing the ailerons or flaps on an aircraft means to raise them above the normal trailing position. It actually decreases lift which in turn decreases drag. In the old days of the coast to coast air races many of the pilots would adjust the ailerons and flaps in this manner. They would have slightly higher stall speeds but that was a fair trade off for the intended flight. What a Flaperon system would do for a coupe is allow the ability to droop the ailerons during low speed operations to increase lift but in cruise to raise the trailing edge (ailerons) a few degrees, usually around 5-8 degrees. Just enough to dump a little lift and drag, which would result in increased airspeed or more MPG. What a deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dave 41 Charlie Dave's Ercoupe Page http://www.flash.net/~dmprosvc/dave
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