REFLECTOR:Lower Winglets

[Dave Black]

> Greg,

> Most of the designs of effective lower winglets as appear
> on other aircraft, kick the winglet out at a decent angle
> (rather than up and down) and have more of a tapered shape - I
> would love to know the reasons why the Velocity is different
> in this regard...can anybody shed any light? ....Could be
> better visual aesthetics I suppose.

A lot of aircraft design is aesthetics. The pointy nose on a Velocity, for
instance. 

I'm quite willing to believe the lower winglet adds some drag. And I'm equally
willing to believe changing the shape or attach angle could minimize drag
penalty while maintaining low-speed benefits. Could you fly your plane with
various lower winglet configurations and report back?  ;~)

dave Black
Shortwing RG