REFLECTOR: Snake Oil or the Best thing since Orville & Wilbur?

[Alex Balic]

That tape does work- I have seen similar tapes used on competition
sailplanes- the stuff I saw had a built in scallop shape to it (instead of
dimples) that basically acted as a flat set of VGs, but as I remember, you
need to place it in just the right location on the chord to be effective, so
the guy who is selling it (or one of us) needs to do some
experimenting......  I don't know about 15% efficiency increase, that sounds
like a lot, but hell, who knows, somebody get that guy to send out a loaner
and let us know.  I know that a smooth golf ball hardly flies at all, and
that torpedoes intentionally have a rough surface to reduce drag......

-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org]On
Behalf Of Scott Baker
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2004 2:36 PM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: REFLECTOR: Snake Oil or the Best thing since Orville & Wilbur?


At EAA Golden West a fellow (credenitals unknown) dropped by the Velocity
display to introduce a product that would "increase cruise speed and
propeller efficiency by 15%".  This miracle product was a something akin to
high-tech Scotch tape with numberous "bumps" on it, creating a "golf ball"
type of surface.  In fact, the fellow likened his product to the performance
of a golf ball.
Has anyone tried this "golf ball" tape product either on the wings or the
propeller?
I'm just curious if this is "Snake Oil" or the "Best thing since Orville and
Wilbur"?
Scott B.


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