The damndest thing flew overhead yesterday......

[n5151ts]

http://www.truveo.com/Secret-Luftwaffe- ... /219819458

well for me anyway...

[BK]

They own a Grumman Albatross as well, I saw it fly this weekend at the air race.

For what it's worth, they also own 20% of the teams in Forumla One auto racing.

Red Bull is about the biggest supporter or speed and motorsports in the world, I certainly trust them with these warbirds, there is real passion there.

I believe Red Bull only sponsors the Albatross. The plane is own by John Shoffner (who also owns the P-47 Wicked Wabbit) and has been based at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation the last couple of years.
http://www.hu-16.com/flying.htm

BK

[Robbie Roberts]

Ha, thanks Mike. I dont like the idea of a corsair in Germany but Im sure thats what all you British say about Spits over here.

What!!!!!????? Have they moved Salzburg from Austria to Germany now? When did that happen?

I think it was something that odd little fellow with the moustache tried to do in the 1930's.(with a Colonial British accent)

Robbie

[sdennison]

Sproiiiing!!!

I believe the proper word is "Schwinggggg!"

[spookythecat]

Gary

It looks like you're up in the corner there trying to shoot it down!

This might be my favorite picture i've seen this week. Kinda mysterious, it is.

[krlang]

Sproiiiing!!!

I believe the proper word is "Schwinggggg!"

Schwantz?

[sdennison]

OK so let me redirect the conversation to those more technical than I.

When I was involved in pro motorsports and engine development, when we highly polished intake manifolds and intake ports, the airflow was actually less than if we left a "sanded" finish on the ports. The theory being that the boundary layer of air on the highly polished surface actually caused turbulence at that level that caused drag to the air flowing through the port. The sanded surface clung to a molecular layer of air that acted as a lubricant for the air flow thus improving the overall flow.

So my question to the "Brain Trust" is, will a highly polished air frame offer a higher airspeed at a fixed power level than an oxidized aluminum airframe? (smooth versus rough) Is it or would it be significant?

Thanks,

[51fixer]

OK so let me redirect the conversation to those more technical than I.

When I was involved in pro motorsports and engine development, when we highly polished intake manifolds and intake ports, the airflow was actually less than if we left a "sanded" finish on the ports. The theory being that the boundary layer of air on the highly polished surface actually caused turbulence at that level that caused drag to the air flowing through the port. The sanded surface clung to a molecular layer of air that acted as a lubricant for the air flow thus improving the overall flow.

So my question to the "Brain Trust" is, will a highly polished air frame offer a higher airspeed at a fixed power level than an oxidized aluminum airframe? (smooth versus rough) Is it or would it be significant?

Thanks,

I don't know but following this thinking I wasted many hours applying wax to several air racers over the years.
Rich

[Kyleb]

Smoother is faster or else all the racing guys (air racing, auto racing, boat racing, and probably rick-shaws and everything else) have been off base for a hundred years...

Also, smoothness is one of the reasons composite aircraft tend to be faster than their convential counterparts.

[sdennison]

OK so flush rivets are one thing but has anyone ever been able to quantify the "smoothness"? It was easy on the flow bench for heads and manifolds but on a large scale for a complete aircraft...dunno. Maybe the molecular level of air doesn't make a difference.

I know that in the real world, air is not a gas but is truly a "liquid" and acts as such. I could take my finger to the sharp edge of an inlet stack and create a radiused flow, (leading to a bell stack design) remove my finger and the air would continue to flow that way without reverting back to the original. This theory was the basis of developing bell shaped inlet stacks on racing engines. The amazing thing was that once you had "programmed" the air floe, it maintained itself.

Too much "ingineering" here...

[PbyCat-Guy]

At least Red Bull has the money and the other resources to keep 'em airborne. That's where they belong!

[bdk]

Surface roughness can help you turn corners better and is more likely to keep fuel droplets in suspension. You are talking about flow in a pipe compared to flow around an airfoil. A pipe is a limited diameter and surrounds the air (surface effects from one side can interfere with surface effects from the other side), while an airfoil is surrounded by unlimited amounts of air. An intake manifold also has intermittant or pulsed airflow where an airfoil has the smooth free stream air to fly in.

Smooth surfaces help maintain laminar flow on a wing. Flow can only remain laminer for a certain percentage back on the airfoil. Smoothness is not as critical aft of that point. A laminar flow airfoil is designed to maintain a laminar flow farther aft on the airfoil than a conventional airfoil and offers less drag because of that.

I'm well out of school on this stuff, but you might want to start an aerodynamics topic if you are really interested.

By the way Gary, that photo is magazine quality! It really conveys speed and sleekness. A Broussard photo just like that just wouldn't have the same effect.

[Flying Pencil]

Is that Lefty's old bird?

Great to see it back in the air!

Last I saw her Lefty was still behind the wheel

[daveymac82c]

Wow, what a picture!

It really makes it look fast and shiny!

I wish I had things like that flying over my house occassionally.

Cheers,

David

[Ztex]

Thanks Gary!
I can hear the zoom from here!

Exciting stuff!

Me thinks a trip to BKD is in order...