Quote:
Originally Posted by sendler
Interesting that the gap drawings show it to be a very slight penalty if the terminations are treated properly.
|
If we had a chunk of cash we could spend a day at Cal Tech and do 'optimizing' studies.
I believe that I could virtually eliminate the gap drag with clothing.
Downhill skiers have already proved-out aerodynamic 'costumes' which affect the foot/calf/thigh area.Boat-tailed helmets are addressing the head drag.
The upper torso and arms could be addressed.
Integrating the helmet back into a deformable turtledeck/head fairing leading edge could kill the head drag entirely.
The appareldynamics would allow for extreme body English when encountering fierce crosswind or gust conditions which require significant keeling to maintain a straight path.