ORIGINAL: combatpigg
This thread is about aerodynamic schooling. I challenged it's merits in terms of both time expended and also in terms of practical, real world application.
A speed contest between two .061 [1cc] powered planes is the purest, most basic form of practical knowledge applied...NO...?
There is only the stop watch, the doppler recordings and the onboard telemetry to dispute....no judges, no politics, no white loafers and no "Team Futaba" shirts.
If 1cc is too small for you, then we could shift up to 6.5 cc [.40] size. That would UP the ante though.
Speed and power are NOT complete aerodynamics. The F-104G had razor sharp wings and a big enginethat allowed it to "fly" very fast. But "fly" it did not. It was fondly called the "missle with man in it" because if it lost power it dropped like a rock. Flying is the art (yes, art) of getting a 750,000 pound airplane off the ground with only 250,000 pounds of thrust. That is aerodynamics.
But I do agree that aerodynamic schooling can only get one part of the answer - practical experience gives the rest and that is where the ART comes in. But don't mistake ART in one area (speed or power) as having complete practical knowledge of flying.