ORIGINAL: abufletcher
What is the effect of wing incidence? I notice on the original Eindecker III, the thin, slightly undercambered wing is tilted up at about 10 degrees while the thick, flat-bottomed airfoil on the BUSA Eindecker is absolutely level. Was the original Eindecker's incidence angle a way of gaining more lift from these early thin wings. What would happen if I set the thicker BUSA wing at this angle. To my newbie pilot mind, the effect would be the same as increasing a flying plane's angle of attack -- which in general sounds like a bad thing.
Wing incidence affects the angle at which the fuselage flies in level flight (its 'deck angle')... If the wing chosen for an airplane requires +5 degrees of angle of attack at its normal design cruise speed, and the wing is attached to the fuselage at +5 degrees, the fuselage will be level in cruise flight... If no incidence were applied, the fuselage would be flying at +5 degrees, resulting in a noticeable uphill/downhill angle for passengers on a long airplane..
IMO, since passengers seldom wander around on a model
, the wing incidence is only important to establish the proper angular relationship between it and the horizontal stab....
Cheers!
Jim