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Old 10-06-2010, 09:59 AM   #3 (permalink)
Patrick
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WRT #12):

Aircraft wing section coefficients are calculated based on the planform area, not the frontal area. So for a 6% section, you have to multiply the coefficent by 16.67 (100/6): 0.003 x 16.67 = 0.05 Cd based on frontal area. So the 0.103 found in the CalTech wind tunnel is only a 106% increase. For comparison, what were the Cds of the other bikes in the competition?

The GM Sunraycer was based on a 63-series wing section and AeroVironment claims that laminar flow was achieved up to the 30% chord maximum thickness.
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