ORIGINAL: topwinguk
Hi all you aerodynamic whiz kids,
I would appreciate some help in sizing the horizontal and vertical tail feathers for a sailplane. The reason for the question arises from the following:- I have a pair of 100" polyhedral sailplane wings that were attached to a conventional balsa fuselage, until I smashed it. I have now been given a very nice fibreglass fuselage with a carbon boom which I intend to use the wings on. However the seat for the horizontal stab is approximately 20% further aft than on my previous model. What I'm after is a method for calculating the reduced area for both the horizontal and vertical stabs. Can I just calculate the reduction by assuming the force acting on the horizontal stab. is directly proportional to the area and then calculating this new area from the equivalent moment from my earlier model? Or is this assumption too crude?
Thanks in anticipation!!
Tony
Try it
actually if the finished result weighs the same - you COULD get by with slightly smaller surfaces
If'n it were me - I would let well enough alone- n fly it .
Mebbe the guy who did th first model made the surfaces too small .
Most of these designs are by guess and by God.