> It's worth bearing in mind that many of the design details of the A4 were
> quick first cuts, dictated more by schedule pressures rather than by
> technical optimization. They didn't have time to refine the design the
> way they would have liked to.
I'm sure you are correct - but I think they had more opportunity to test and
refine this part of the design than some other parts. Looking at these vanes
you can see the thinking that's gone into them. Things like force on the
actuator and action in and reaction from the exhaust at all engine
conditions is something they would have been able to measure very well in a
static test with a static simulator. Apart from fixed static testing they
made a fully gimballed test unit so the rocket was positioned by its control
systems. This loses any aerodynamic effects but would still be an
interesting (and exciting) test of the system.
PICTURES: For those who are interested in the pictures - the total set
comes to 15 MB :-(. I'm happy to send them but if this is too large I can
send a smaller subset of the best pictures - say 2 or 3 MB. Anyone wanting
them please advise off list and say whether you want the 15MB or smaller
subset. I can send the big ones in several batches to help overcome mailbox
size limits.
Russell McMahon
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