Mon, Feb 21, 2011
Aero-Linx!
Scouring the information super airways can sometimes be a tough,
if educational, task for the Aero-News staff... but it also allows
us to check out some truly neat and exciting sites, so it's not
that bad a gig. On any given day, we may check dozens (and often
hundreds) of different sources for story ideas, and facts
confirmation. And, as is the nature of our business, much of this
is done on the Internet.
The ANN gang decided we probably shouldn't keep some of the neat
sites, info resources, and organizations we've discovered to
ourselves... so we decided to bring you Aero-Linx. These are the
sites that WE check out -- when we need added perspective, a new
spin on a day's topic... or just want to escape into
cyber-aero-space for awhile.
Look for some of our favorite sites, coming each day to ANN via
Aero-Linx.
Suggestions for future Aero-Linx segments are always
welcome, as well.
Aero-Linx: Biplanes vs.
Monoplanes
Ever wondered why modern airplanes only have one set of wings?
You may have heard that it's more efficient than the old biplanes,
but why is that? And why do sail planes have those long thin wings?
There are actually two significant reasons that a monoplane is more
efficient aerodynamically than a biplane or a triplane (or any
number of stacked wings if you're really ambitious), which are
discussed below. One small note - the discussion below applies to
subsonic flow. Once you go faster than the speed of sound and get
shock waves, the aerodynamics associated with the shock waves
becomes a big consideration, and low-aspect ratio wings start to
look more appealing.
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