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There is absolutely no question that winglets work
if properly designed and correctly installed. The net drag is reduced
and other significant performance improvements are realized accordingly.
Observe the wide spread adoption by knowledgable designers of virtually all
modern airliners, business class jets, advanced amateur-built kit aircraft
and even high-performance competition gliders.
The only limitation is optimum design and
accurate installation. I saw a new Legacy on the ramp at
Lancair, a couple of years ago, that had winglets made by Legacy Innovations
that were cockeyed and obviously unsymmetrical. Tim Ong gave that one as
an example of winglets that didn't perform well. I'm not surprised that
particular one didn't fly well, but that was not a conclusive example. I
was later informed by Ron Jones, Legacy
Innovations President, that the builder declined Ron's offer to
let him use the Legacy Innovations fixtures to easily and accurately
position the winglets. The builder told Ron that he could
do to visually without the bother. Wrong!! Don't throw out the baby
with the bath water. I believe that Legacy Innovations winglets work
well, and I am going to install them properly on my Legacy along with their
other speed mods.
Rod Pharis
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, June 05, 2009 8:52 PM
Subject: [LML] Re: L360 winglets
Here is a quick intro on winglets used for low speed flight.
This link from Penn State is a bit more technical, but also has some
really good graphics.
Chris Zavatson
N91CZ
360std
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