REFLECTOR: ram air

[Al Gietzen]

I'm a little confused about the aerodynamics of bringing the air into the 
cowl, though. I don't want to give up the head room in the back seat with 
naca ducts, and I saw some pictures of the air pressure gradients on a 
LongEz that makes me suspect that ducts above the spar and next to the 
fuselage would be an efficient way to get down draft air to the Lycoming 
cylinder heads. But do I mount the intake duct flush with the strake and 
fuselage, or leave an inch or so of space in order to get out of the 
boundary layer. I've attached a crude sketch so I don't have to write so 
much. Is A, B, or C the best?

Doug Holub
>>>>>>>>
I don't see any reason to expect a high pressure area above the strake at
the strake/fuselage intersection; so if you are going there your sketch "A"
is going to work the best.  And then you may want to get it up away from the
stake a bit to better allow BL diversion.  For cooling air you'd likely be
better off with such a scoop below the strake where there would be higher
pressure at high angle of attack.

FWIW,

Al