Fred,
You're thinking along the right lines.
In 1992 one of your fellow countrymen called Mike Arnold broke the world
speed record for aircraft weighing under 661 lbs at speed of 213.18 mph
in a self designed and build aircraft powered by a Rotax 582. In order
to achieve this he did a great deal of research and drew heavily on the
work of Hoerner. His drive to reduce interference drag led him to pay
particular attention to the wing/fuselage junction - with stunning
results.
He recorded the whole process on a series of four fairly amateurish, but
very informative videos which he now (certainly "did") markets directly.
If you are interested, you might wish to contact Mike directly at:
1203 Wanda Street
Crockett
CA 94525
The tape you need is Tape_1, "Why it goes so Fast" and cost about $30.
The optimum profile and size of the wing root fillet is dependant on the
profile of the fuselage against which it abuts - hence the large fairing
on the Spitfire and some fast glass. The Europa has a very efficient
parallel (non-divergent/convergent) fuselage section at the wing
junction and would probably not need nor benefit from an overly large
wing root fairing.
If you suffer from insomnia and have about $80 spare- or have a genuine
desire to learn more about aerodynamics, you might consider the
following book:
"Fluid Dynamic Drag"
available from:
Hoerner Fluid Dynamics
P.O. Box 65283
Vancouver,
WA 98665
Happy reading
Nigel (punter - not promoter ;-)
Gentlepeople,
After seeing the recent postings on problems of fitting the wing root
fairings......................................
..................... I seem to recall that interference drag between
fuselage
and wing primarily builds up aft of the center of lift when there is no
gentle transition.....................................
What I do know is that I would benefit emmensely if I knew whether or
not
others have looked into this issue and could learn what...if
anything...has
come of their enquiries.
Hopefully,
Fred Klein, A-194
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