From: Lan Barnes
Subject: Re: Dabblers and blowhards
On Tue, Aug 09, 2005 at 07:20:53AM -0400, RBW wrote:
>
> But it is an idea that currently has a lot of R&D devoted to its
> development:
> "*The shape shifters* - Ever since the Wrights came up with the idea of
> steering in the air by bending the wing tips of their aircraft - âwing
> warpingâ - aircraft designers have dreamed of being able to alter the
> contours of their creations while on the move. The shape of an
> aircraft's tail and the length of its wings, for example, determine its
> flying characteristics, so being able to alter them during flight could
> make existing designs more versatile, and turn specialist aircraft into
> workhorses capable of all kinds of tasks."
> http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/aviation/dn7552
>
I thought that's what the tabs do -- basically change a 767 into a
biplane for landing.
Flaps do two things:
1. Alter the shape of the wing making it thicker and hence likely to
produce more
lift.
2. Increase wing area producing more lift.
Slats increase the speed of the airstream over the surface increasing its
energy.
A boundary layer with increased enegry won't tend to separate from the
surface
quite as quickly.
Tabs are not high lift devices.
IBM
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