Tip Plates
 

Hi all,

Are vertical wingtip plates legal in this class?

Thanks,
Adam

RE: Tip Plates
 

Yes they are if you meet the rest of the wing size criteria. I believe the dodger use to use them.

RE: Tip Plates
 

What would be the advantage?? I know what they are for but why would you want them on a quickie?? Wouldn't that be just extra points of drag?

Just wondering.

RE: Tip Plates
 

Winglets or tip plates would have the advantage of reducing wingtip vortex production, which is a major source of drag for inefficient planforms like we have to deal with here (constant chord is about as bad as it gets).

Sizing them would be a bit of a bugger..."guess and test" comes to mind. Just wanted to check whether they were even legal first (dictates design of the rest of the wing a bit).

Thanks all!

RE: Tip Plates
 

SoarNeck,

From what I've been told, tip plates (winglets) WOULD help in the straightaways but would hurt A LOT in the turns at our high AOA. Only one way to find out though. :D

RE: Tip Plates
 

I have done a little work with "tip plates" actually called endplates. It's my understanding from reading and experience that in order to be effective they need to around 10% of the wing area. This is quite large. In full sized aircraft and racing cars they are used to increase lift, not reduce drag. Generally you can increase lift by up to 7% with a drag increase of 1% to 2%.

I used them on a combat flying wing I used to market, they looked cool and supplied some scuff protection of the tips on landing. Also by toeing them in about 1/2 to 1 degree it tends to stabilize the wing in flight.

IMHO you'd be better off studying Hoerner Tips.

Stan D.