Reflexed flaps are common on modern sailplanes. Sailplanes like the ASW27,
using reflexed flaps, are able to go much, much faster than non-flapped gliders.
Having flown along side flapped sailplanes in a non-flapped sailplane I can
only watch in amazement as they disappear when they set the reflex in the
flaps. I'm not sure how it would affect the Europa, but I'm reasonably sure it
would be hard to do with a trigear since the flap drive tube is against the rear
of the CM with the flaps all the way up. Perhaps changing the angle of the flap
arms would allow for reflexed flaps?
It'd probably be easier to pick up a few knots by gap sealing the ailerons
and mylaring them top and bottom to help the laminar flow and also applying a
flap gap seal of mylar. Fair all that mylar into the paint and I'd bet you'd
pick up 4-5 knots, maybe more. Of these ideas, from what I've seen in
sailplanes,
the aileron gap seals would do the most for drag reduction. Further increases
in speed would probably result by optimizing cooling drag and making the
wing/fuselage intersection as clean as possible. I plan to implement all of the
above in my Europa. I'll let you know how it works.
Regards,
John Lawton
Dunlap, TN
A-245 (Vacuum bagged panels for baggage bay, seat pans. headphone jacks, and
stick boots complete and post cured. Sanding and filling, getting ever closer
to cockpit paint)
|