If anyone in the UK finds a suitable lightweight compressible strip, please
let us know the source and the material spec.
The ailerons can be sealed by flexible adhesive tape placed over the
underside gap along the hinge line with the aileron in the full up position
(so as not to restrict any movement).
Regards,
William
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tony Krzyzewski" <tonyk@kaon.co.nz>
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 1:44 AM
Subject: RE: Europa-List: Re: Flap Seals
>
>>>
> Of course even when the flap is retracted, some air will find its way
> up thru the gap between the leading edge of the flap and the vertical
> face of the wing closeout, and it is this airflow which one wants to
> eliminate in order to enhance cruise efficiency.
>
> If this is so, it would seem that another way to get this increase in
> cruise efficiency might be to install a compressible strip which would
> close the gap when flaps are retracted but allow airflow over the flaps
> when they are deployed, thus maintaining the short field
> characteristics of the aircraft which, if I understand you correctly,
> have been changed. <<
>
> Adding compressible strips in the flap closeout was suggested to me some
> time ago by a person with many years of aeronautical design experience.
>
> The key is to close the airflow from lower to upper surface during
> cruise but to ensure that the lower to upper airflow over the flap
> remains per the design spec when the flaps are down.
>
> This is quite easy to achieve by adding some light doorstop strip into
> the flap closeout and, in many cases, will have already been achieved on
> the port side if the pitot/static lines were run in the flap closout as
> part of a retrofit.
>
> Tony
>
>
> --
> 10:34
>
>
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