further thoughts...
An interesting thread & a good point John - data is required to be completely sure.
Going back to the original question about differences between aircraft of the same model having different stall speeds maybe it's due to manufacturing tolerances ? a few thou' here & there on the overall
aerofoil shape etc plus different paint finishes / polish etc must a difference -Gliders I've flown were more efficient when polished & the
same must be true for power too - an old instructer at southend I knew used to swear by mr sheen on his 150's & they did indeed fly very well - far better than the 'matt & dirty' finish competitors !
I wonder what effect these things have on fast jets too - it must be even more important to have a good finish - any thoughts folks ?
I remember mr Boeing advising that even small imperfections make a huge difference. (although that was with regard to icing - similar except potentially worse as it increases in bad conditions ! )
All Interesting stuff anyway...... :-)