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Re: Glasair Merlin SLSA makes it's first flight

Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 12:44 pm
by Dennis
FastEddieB wrote:Looks nice enough, but nothing makes it stand out from current offerings - at least to me. Especially at $150k. I'd far prefer an RV 12 - for less money to boot.

No reason struts should add weight. Though they obviously weigh something, their addition means less structure elsewhere, often reducing weight overall. Going strutess makes more aerodynamic sense at higher speeds, where parasitic drag increases exponentially. In slower aircraft, much less so.
I believe parasitic drag, as most drags, varies as velocity squared, and not exponentially.

The Merlin does seem to have many improvements over the Skycatcher but at a hefty increase in price.

Dennis Persyk Skycatcher N900DP

Re: Glasair Merlin SLSA makes it's first flight

Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 12:54 pm
by SportPilot
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Re: Glasair Merlin SLSA makes it's first flight

Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 2:07 pm
by FastEddieB
Dennis wrote:
I believe parasitic drag, as most drags, varies as velocity squared, and not exponentially.
Math is not my subject, so I'll leave that part.

My point was, on a 200kt aircraft, the drag of the struts may cause an engineer to seek ways to get rid of them. On a 100kt plane with 1/4 the drag, it's less of a concern.

Comparing the Cessna 172 (struts) with the 177 (cantilevered) may show us that these speeds (120kts?) are right in the range where it's kind of a "push". Right where most Light Sports live.

I've always been a bit perplexed that the 172 soldiered on while the more modern 177 withered and died.