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Common explanation why wings fly is WRONG!
It’s one of the most tenacious myths in physics and it frustrates aerodynamicists the world over. Now, University of Cambridge’s Professor Holger Babinsky has created a 1-minute video that he hopes will finally lay to rest a commonly used yet misleading explanation of how wings lift. (www.physorg.com) المزيد...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Now I just happen to have S E T Taylors and H A Parmar's "Private Pilot Studies" fourth edition pulished by R and AD Poyser in the UK in 1979 on the shelf next to me here. ISBN 085661 0204. Cost me £6 back then. On page 133 these two aviator authors set out the "Principals of Flight2 and believe me thse two guys were stellar in the world of aviation. There are 14 pages of text and diagrams. There is no math at all in the discussion and the only clue as to lift is a derived 8.5% lift, bur they see it as PUSH from below on an idealised asymetrical lenticular..ahem! Told yas I went to college! So I withdraw my cristicism Babinsky does indeed have a case. Most aviators were taught BS.
Very appropriate then that Professor Holger Babinsky is from University of Cambridge since you UK blokes only had "these two guys [who] were stellar in the world of aviation" (read UK aviation). As mentioned above since 1960 I was taught what Professor Babinsky has now discovered except we never discussed whether the air molecules meet up at the trailing edge, that was never the issue. The issue is that the increase in speed of the molecules over the top surface of the aerofoil produces lift as described in Bernoulli's theorem.
Now Ole let's not bring US vs USA capability into this. The only real way to solve this is by using acetate ping pong balls with mexican insect jumping bean grubs in them. Then we can have a real experiment. Don't be so sure I am a "UK guy" either...hahahha. There must have been plenty of misled people on your side of the Atlantic too..
Sorry, mate, I was just trying to be funny. However, notice my name, not exactly American. It is in fact Danish and I was trained as a fighter pilot in the Royal Danish Air Force. Part of the training was in Canada and I can confirm that on both sides of the big ditch they explained aerodynamic lift in the same way. Anyway, it has been an interesting discussion, but I think it is time to move on to something else. How about a discussion on how to maximize laminar flow over the aerofoil to get maximum lift and minimum drag? Oh, and yes, I don't live in Denmark any more, I have lived in Australia for more than 30 years and would you believe it, they also here explain aerodynamic lift the same way. Just pure luck, I guess. All the best, Ole
I am big fan of the ATSB..only truly independent authority in my view. Great place Australia...
Pretty funny...do you do stand-up comedy in your airplane?