Originally posted by C_Watkins
Some people aren't interested in learning these things... and it's not needed, for the average Joe.
Most folks "just drive". Doesn't make them stupid... they're just not interested.
Most folks want to get from point A to point B and that's that.
I'd suspect most flyers are the same way. They want the plane to fly, and they know,
if building a proven design, that someone has already done all the dirty work, and they want
the quick answer, not a college level lecture in aerodynamic principles.
My point is that we all have our areas of expertise. There's no real need to understand all the theory and possible adjustments, just to be an end-user.
Chris,
I do think that you are considering only 2 extremes: Knowing nothing, on one side, be an expert, on another side.
My take is that there is a minimum basis that EVERYBODY should know, then decide by himself if one want to know more, or not.
If you want to be a "full scale" pilot, you will have to learn and understand some aerodynamic basis, yet, you legally will NEVER have to make structural changes to the plane you fly. As a model airplane pilot, chances are that, even an ARF may very well, during his "life" have some "landings" ending up in heavy structural modifications and diverge quite a bit from the "proven design".....
That you are interested or not does not matter much, the model still obey the same aerodynamics rules....
And the basics rules are, at least from my point of view, a lot more simpler than any "college level lecture"....
Bernard