Subject:
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Re: Historical fudging...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 18 Dec 2002 22:39:28 GMT
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Viewed:
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428 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Pedro Silva writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Thomas Stangl writes:
> >
> > That's why you make composite wings ;-)
> >
> > Actually, current research is moving away from the "ugly" or "dirty" flaps to wings
> > that flex. Less drag, more control.
>
> Hmmm... wouldn't composite wings prove too costly for large passenger planes?
> They sure look like they can improve performance, and that is an invaluable
> factor when we are talking about fighter-jets (for instance). But would the
> increased cost be compensated by the decrease in fuel consumption, in the
> case of civilian airplanes? If not, few companies would actually buy such
> aircrafts for commercial duties! Maybe some corporate jets, yes...
I suspect aircraft are expensive either way. The real question I would have
is what would the psychological impact be on passengers who look out and see
the wing of the aircraft bending up and down a lot? They might get
additionally unnerved when they remember that some of the fuel tanks are
inside of those bending wings. ;o
It is kind of like the fictional Asimov Robots or Red Dwarf mechanoids where
android designers scrapped more realistic human-like designs because they
made people insecure that they could not see the difference between robots
and people. Sometimes the best thing technologically is not the best thing
sociologically.
-Hendo
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Historical fudging...
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| (...) The article I was reading was mentioning that the amount of flex needed in a wing was FAR less than the movement of a flap, as the wing surface was much larger than the flaps, and slight flexing made quite a difference in the airflow over the (...) (22 years ago, 20-Dec-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Historical fudging...
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| (...) Hmmm... wouldn't composite wings prove too costly for large passenger planes? They sure look like they can improve performance, and that is an invaluable factor when we are talking about fighter-jets (for instance). But would the increased (...) (22 years ago, 18-Dec-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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