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Old 11th Aug 2010, 21:08
  #31 (permalink)  
bjornhall
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
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barrow, just because you haven't understood something doesn't make it less true...

Go up in an airplane and do some experimentation on your own then. You should be able to discover that what you just said is not relevant to what actually happens.

There will be all sorts of asymmetries in any stall situation aside from the design asymmetries you mention; a small slip angle, a small gust at the wrong time, slightly unequal fuel or payload distribution, and so on. If such small effects were enough to cause a wing drop it would be a very rare event to see a straight ahead stall. But what happens in real life is that modern aircraft with sufficient washout etc tend to stall straight ahead every single time! The reason is that the roll damping catches the roll before it has time to develop, and only a very slight residual bank remains to recover. Therefore, contrary to what you say, the design asymmetries do not cause a wing drop, even if the ball is not held slightly off-center to compensate for the asymmetric thrust.

If you don't have sufficient roll damping for whatever of many possible reasons, you do get a wing drop if you have any asymmetry in the situation. But since the design asymmetries included to counter the LTT in cruise are just one example of such asymmetries, and there could very well be some other asymmetry at play (see examples above), trying to fly with exactly the right amount of off-center ball to counter the design assymetries would be a waste of time IMV. Indeed, if you would try that and get wrong the resulting side slip would cause a rolling moment due to slip roll coupling that could very well be far bigger than the design asymmetry you tried to compensate for in the first place.

The asymmetries you mention really are extraordinarily small. To provide slip free operation with one engine out in a twin requires a bank of a couple degrees or so. That is with the operating engine mounted all the way on a wing; how many thousands of a ball width will be required to offset the off center thrust in a light single? Not many!

BTW, you should probably be aware that trying to emphasize your points by insulting those you discuss with just might make you come across as a somewhat mentally challenged individual... Just thought you might know, to make a better first impression next time.
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