Monty I didn't respond further yesterday as the subject was not only straying totally from the question actually asked, but presumably as actually intended by the originator of the thread. ie:"how do u calculate the - max. (sic) - wing loading of your rc planes?". He was well answered by LouW on the latter, and I added my comments primarily in response to Geistware's tangent of questionable comprehensibility.
Perhaps I'll respond further later considering the turn this thread has taken. This'll necessarily be short as I want have to leave to go flying in 30 minutes time.
"apples to apples" is exactly right. And you better have a very narrow defination of "apple". By that I mean, both planes have to have the same airfoil (including, and espeically the LE shape), the same wingspan, the same wing area, the same aspect ratio, the same taper ratio, etc.
Not only must it be said that that not only sounds exaggerative approaching absurdity Monty, but it's simply untrue = false (logic), model or full scale.
So, if you have two 30% extra 330's, sure, go ahead, compare wingloadings. Got a 1/4 scale cub and a 1/5 scale cub? Forget wingloding, it's now useless as a way to compare those two.
I think I know where you're coming from, and will discuss it further with you when I have more time. I suggest that the case for our apparently varying view is not only our differing degrees of knowledge and relative perspectives based upon that individual understanding, (see next para.) but the arithmetic and its
contextual relativity.
Heck, I'd even so far as to say that a CAP and an Extra with the same wingspan and same wingloading will fly "differently".
All aeroplanes by inherent difference of design have unique handing characteristics, and I've flown and instructed, checked and trained on/in 'quite a few' in 14,000hrs ITRW and aeromodelling over the past 30 years. However aircraft of similar class with similar wing loadings will ordinarily exhibit certain and predictable characteristics in their handling. This is of course always subject to characteristics imposed by other inherent design difference, which holds true on any scale. Within a relative spectrum, wing loading can be used as a datum predictor of comparitive performance, specifically in respect of the aspects mentioned in my second post in this thread.
Read what I said
specifically about wing loading's effect upon manoeuvre & inertial penetration. Of course, altering the scale, form (drag) or wing shape
dramatically will have an influence upon both handling and performance. Of course understood as a given, wing loading is part of the whole (design).
I'm not really interested in discussion for (ego) gratification or argument as its own end. I suspect similarly to your good self, motivation is to educate and dispel erroneous belief and misunderstanding derived of half-understood lay knowledge endlessly perpetuated in R/C mythology. BBL..gotta' go fly now.
cheers
sigrun
OOps! Epaulettes, braid & cap left in the crew room locker with the (US)ATP, (AU)ATPL + et al
