Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Old Professer
Just exactly what tail forces do you perceive?

The tail consists of a couple of surfaces parallel to the direction of motion, and in our case of interest, in the horizontal plane.

In level flight the drag component is minimized as the tail surface presents a minimum area in the direction of travel.

When the nose fell off, the COG moved behind the COL. This would cause a rotational torque around the COG, with the tail tending to drop. This rotation puts the tail surfaces at an inclined angle to the airstream. This increases the drag in a vector essentially normal to the plane of the tail surface. In other words, the airstream tends to push the tail back up!

At 500 mph these forces on the tail surface are not inconsequential (they don't put those tails on the end of aircraft just for cosmetic reasons.)

I'm merely asking the good Captain Lahr to include these force vectors (the tail AND the fuselage) in his torque calculation, as any good scientist would do. His failure to bother to do so hints that his agenda is really to sell conspiracy theories to the black helicopter crowd -- and by the way they are drooling here, you can see they are eager to part with their cash.

105 posted on 07/28/2002 6:59:45 PM PDT by jlogajan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 93 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson