Does the Custer channel-wing for aircraft really work?
dfrank_robinson asked:
The story is that Willard Custer, a relative of The General Custer, invented an aircraft wing design with stupendous lift back in the 1920s. His orginal aircraft is in the Smithsonian collection, but nobody uses his design. Why not?
Well, according to How Things Work, Custer’s theory for his wing is sound; it’s the spped of the ait over the wing that creates the static lift NOT the speed of the wing through the air- even the two go together. The speed of the air over the wing can be much higher than the speed of the wing (and aircraft) thought the air. It certainly is for subsonic flight. I still wonder why someone like Bert Rutan hasn’t picked up on it. This seems really stange that no private experimental aircraft, at least, use the Custer channel-wing.
The story is that Willard Custer, a relative of The General Custer, invented an aircraft wing design with stupendous lift back in the 1920s. His orginal aircraft is in the Smithsonian collection, but nobody uses his design. Why not?
Well, according to How Things Work, Custer’s theory for his wing is sound; it’s the spped of the ait over the wing that creates the static lift NOT the speed of the wing through the air- even the two go together. The speed of the air over the wing can be much higher than the speed of the wing (and aircraft) thought the air. It certainly is for subsonic flight. I still wonder why someone like Bert Rutan hasn’t picked up on it. This seems really stange that no private experimental aircraft, at least, use the Custer channel-wing.
Tags: 1920s, Aircraft Wing, Smithsonian Collection