[Leica] IMG: From the Cigar Box, WWII Bombers Seen in 1995

[jhnichols at bellsouth.net (Jim Nichols)]

Alan,

Thanks for looking.  I was aware that it was the Davis wing design, but had 
no data at hand to give the airfoil characteristics.  I just looked at the 
Wikipedia article on the Davis wing and it confirms, for what it is worth, 
that wind tunnel tests in the Cal Tech tunnel showed that it maintained 
laminar flow to between 20 and 30 per cent of the chord length.  While not 
in the class of post war designs, it appears that it maintained an 
appreciable increase in laminar flow over the wing, and hence reduced the 
wing drag.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <amr3@uwm.edu>
To: <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 11:15 PM
Subject: [Leica] IMG: From the Cigar Box, WWII Bombers Seen in 1995


> On Wed, 17 Oct 2007  "Jim Nichols" <jhnichols@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>> As shown in take-off, the thick wing airfoil of the B-17 allows a fairly
>> steep climb angle, especially when compared to the B-24 which made use of 
>> a
>> NACA laminar-flow airfoil designed to achieve higher speeds.  Even with
>> partial flaps on take-off, the B-24 climbs at a more conservative angle.
> ..............................................................................................................................................
> I don't think the B-24 wing was laminar.  It was called the Davis Wing, a
> high-lift airfoil, and was of high aspect ratio (i.e. long and thin, as
> compared to the wider, low aspect one of the B-17).
>
> Alan
>
> Alan Magayne-Roshak, Senior Photographer
> University Information Technology Services
> University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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>
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