- Joined
- Mar 25, 2013
- Messages
- 1,227
- Reaction score
- 620
Sorry for the title. (I'm over it really... no really). So two things are happening here. First, I got confused on figure 8 (I set up for a Humpty--go figure) and finished DFL. So you will see me mouthing some very indelicate language as I pull out. Some may be offended.
But the cool part and the real purpose for this post is this: My plane makes vapor trails any time the dew point is within spitting distance of the temperature. As this is the only airplane in which I've ever done any real aerobatics, honestly I thought vapor trails were normal behavior for ALL airplanes under stress. However the people on the judges line who watched this sad little flight all seemed fairly impressed. Even Bill Gordon! Some, like Wes Liu and Neville Hogan, practically broke out their slide-rules in hopes of figuring out why my plane has such a propensity for this behavior. What really threw them was my claim that only the lower wing makes trails. From the video its easy to see that's not the case--the top wing contributes, just not quite to the same degree.
As far as I know my wings share the same dimensions and airfoil as found on other S1-S's. Where they differ is their covering of plywood and polyurethane and a beautifully tapered tip (courtesy of Ray Williams). Why do they do this? Discuss.
YouTube: 'Vapor Trails!'
But the cool part and the real purpose for this post is this: My plane makes vapor trails any time the dew point is within spitting distance of the temperature. As this is the only airplane in which I've ever done any real aerobatics, honestly I thought vapor trails were normal behavior for ALL airplanes under stress. However the people on the judges line who watched this sad little flight all seemed fairly impressed. Even Bill Gordon! Some, like Wes Liu and Neville Hogan, practically broke out their slide-rules in hopes of figuring out why my plane has such a propensity for this behavior. What really threw them was my claim that only the lower wing makes trails. From the video its easy to see that's not the case--the top wing contributes, just not quite to the same degree.
As far as I know my wings share the same dimensions and airfoil as found on other S1-S's. Where they differ is their covering of plywood and polyurethane and a beautifully tapered tip (courtesy of Ray Williams). Why do they do this? Discuss.
YouTube: 'Vapor Trails!'
