After nearly a year of work this is likely the most labor intensive video I have made. Today I answer a complicated question about airplane winglets, specifically those on Shirl Diskey's E-Racer design. By running several of versions of the plane's wing through a computational fluid dynamics program and building off of a 2007 study on an E-Racer modified with a 9 inch radius winglet curve, we can see how much different levels of curvature affect cruise performance.
Sources and additional resources:
Marc Zeitlin’s 2007 Oshkosh presentation:
http://www.cozybuilders.org/Oshkosh_Presentations/2007_Blended_Winglet_Eracer.pdf
Plane&Pilot article on experimental aircraft:
https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/ownership/modifications/the-homebuilt-aircraft-advantages-and-other-considerations/
EAA article about Burt Rutan’s VariEze:
https://www.eaa.org/eaa-museum/museum-collection/aircraft-collection-folder/1975-rutan-varieze-prototype---n7ez
NASA resource on winglet history:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/about/Organizations/Technology/Facts/TF-2004-15-DFRC.html
Boldmethod article on canard aircraft:
https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/aircraft-systems/canards/
Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators
https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/00-80t-80.pdf
Real Engineering video on winglets:
https://youtu.be/FNqXf6t7e-w
Boldmethod article on interference drag:
https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/aerodynamics/how-interference-drag-affects-your-airplane-performance-and-decreases-performance-speed/
Helpful FreeCAD, OpenFOAM, and Paraview tutorials:
https://youtu.be/JVO2kqO3D1Q
https://youtu.be/J944HOj_4b0
Videos
ERacer flyby:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1AYKvwzVQ4
ERacer gear test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l41QBenAsF4
VariEze flight footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eNfKH1jBvE
Long EZ footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMeejEi1nF0 and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo-v4gKp5CI
ERacer takeoff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skDiNwvx6xA
NASA 707:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbll5AXGPQg
Wind tunnel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PabZAx-4Yw
Long EZ landing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWsu5aTztps
Long EZ stall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SmpdbCFwf8
Long EZ wing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4Uy-dK7gIs
Pictures
ERacer Flying:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1606742192870447&set=pcb.1606742359537097
Embraer Praetor Winglet:
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2020/january/pilot/praetor-600-super-mid-step-up
Burt Rutan:
https://www.burtrutan.com/home/biography/
VariEze:
https://www.kitplanes.com/flight-review-back-to-the-future/
Richard Whitcomb:
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/us/26whitcomb.html
ERacer Original Wing:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1245881622289841&set=pcb.1245882075623129
Flight simulator footage: Kerbal Space Program