On Tuesday 17 February 2004 15:52, Andy Ross wrote: > Innis Cunningham wrote: > > Unfortunately the spoiler/speedbrake system/s seem to be much more > > complicated than something that can be controlled by one key. The > > Boeing 7 series A/C,not including the badge engineered 717, use the > > same panels as speedbrakes and spoilers.They act as spoilers in > > conjunction with the ailerons and as speedbrakes under the control of > > the speedbrake handle in the cockpit. > > This terminology is a bit mixed up. The surfaces are spoilers in both > circumstances, since they act to spoil the lift from the wing. > Sometimes they are used for speed control, because they allow the > aircraft to fly at a higher angle of attack without generating extra > lift. They are also used for roll control by deflecting them > asymmetrically when high roll rates are commanded. But they're still > spoilers. There is a third use, too: they are deployed automatically > at landing to kill as much wing lift as possible and increase braking > effectiveness. > > Traditionally a "speedbrake" is a drag-only surface mounted on the > fuselage. It doesn't affect wing lift. > > Andy
I'm thinking that the key difference between spoilers and speed-brakes is that speed-brakes shouldn't affect lift/trim whereas spoilers should. LeeE _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.flightgear.org/mailman/listinfo/flightgear-devel
