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Thread: Laminar Flow
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Old 07-25-2004 | 01:42 PM
  #10  
B Vial
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From: Enterprise, AL
Default RE: Laminar Flow

This is an interesting discussion going here. For my purposes in giant scale AT-6 racing many of the design elements are fixed although I am not up to date with what they are I am only going with my memory here from about 7 years ago with the defunct GASARA rules and I am not sure if any changed with the USRA rules. Weight has a min limit (25 pounds), the LE of the airfoils has a min radius, the wings and stabs have a min thickness values, min wing span, and there are limits to go with the fuselage that I do not recall.

I do believe that the idea was good in the rules so that no one had to have a certain manufacturer to compete (IE you could have a scratch Ziroli, a Barons kit, etc). This however has led the competition to just what they were avoiding because if you didn't have a plane that was built with mins and racing in mind you most likely was not going to be competitive enough. The 'kits' that are winning are not cheap by any means and it looks as if AT-6 is far from the entry level giant scale racing it was intended to be.

I was able to locate another article on the laminar flow design of all places from [link=http://www.aerosport.org/robert/article.html]Aero Sport[/link]. They also have some coordinates but that would be little use I think for me since it is for Formula 1 racing wings.

Once again thanks for everyone's input. It is nice to hear the discussion on benefits of laminar flow wings in our Reynolds numbers and if they are negated in the turns or even in the straight aways.