Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

Hypothetical question here...

What would be the effect of swapping out the 52" hershey bar wing on a Q500 with a 60" span tapered wing that keeps the root chord the same as the stock wing and uses the same airfoil? I expect it will turn with less speed lost due to lower induced drag, but I have a couple of other questions:

1) Will straight line speed be noticeably reduced?
2) Will it handle any differently if CofG is kept at the same % of MAC?

Thanks,
Mark

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

This question would be better posed at the pylon forum. The difference might be just a couple of seconds with the same power applied, which to those guys would be huge. Sounds like a simple project that would be worth trying for fun.

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

I was thinking that it would be pretty easy to make up a new wing to find out, which is why I asked. I am not going fast enough or skilled enough as a pilot to tell a difference like that, but I was wondering if the faster cornering would make up for the loss of straightline speed. I will take a look over in the pylon forum and see what they think.

I agree, a couple of seconds a lap would be huge on the lap times they run. For a duffer like me, just playing around without a fixed course or stopwatch running, I would never be able to tell.

Mark

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

MM:

From one duffer to another. Sometimes the difference from theory to reality is very substanctial. True, the fastest airplane does not always win the race, but it sure is a advantage. If you give 1/10th a lap to a old racer, chances are its all over but the shouting. If you do several trial runs with the streight wing, and then compare times with the proposed wing, the results are credable, assuming same pilot on the same day. You can argue the detail foreaver, but the results are reasonably reliable. If the results of your testing indicate the new wing is superior, its well worth the effort to take the design forward onto the reality of the race track. I recall when a couple of 14 year olds went to the speed nats with their inovation of a pressurized fuel tank, won and set a new record. They shared (foolishly) and the old duffers knowing their stuff cleaned the kids clock the following year with improvements of the kids design. You never know until you try. Enjoy, Bro # 119

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

For fun try it. A tapered wing is not legal for racing Q500.

Ed S

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

Here is my Q other than it being really "fun" to land what would happen if one was to make a "flat out" style wing you know like the foamies just a VERY thin completly flat airfoil i do beleive that in theory this DOES creat lift (with the correct aoa) this shoudl reduce the drag although well il let you guys figure the out the landing.. [:@][&:]

Steven

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

I agree.... just make the wing and try it.

It has been done before.

Matney's Animal-500 Zoomer is somewhat of an example.

Performance wise... who knows.... but its a good experiment if you have both types of wings to bolt onto the same airframe/engine combination.

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

Bob,

I may do that. I am neck deep in work and family stuff until into the new year, but after that things should get better. At least a Q500 is a quick build... Does anybody know what airfoil was used on the Lanier Dominator 500?

The Zoomer build by Vertical Grimace is what made me think about this in the first place, so it's really his fault.:D

Thanks,
Mark

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

Im not sure waht the dominator 500 used il keep looking but i didn find this site http://www.mh-aerotools.de/airfoils/mh16koo.htm

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

FF,

Thanks for that info. I do have the Seeker airfoil already in CAD and that should be close enough for my uses if I can't find the Dominator section.

Mark

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

Hey Mark,
I still have my Dominator plans. Would a picture of the cross section of the wing help?

RE: Q500 Wing Swap Question
 

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the offer, but I have a Dominator kit sitting in the build line, so I will have the same set of plans. I would like the actual profile number so that I can plot it accurately for the foam cutting templates in order to have a fair comparison between the constant chord and tapered wings.

Mark