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Old 19th June 2011 | 14:02
  #1783 (permalink)  
aguadalte
 
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 270
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From: Gone Flying...
RetiredF4 mm43
Good graphic, except that the profile is upside down. On the THS the curvature of the profile is on the downside.
I'm sorry to disagree, but I do believe that the mm43 profile is correct. The THS on almost heavy aircraft has a positive profile. That is why the "ground set" is minus 4º, (zero lift). Remember that the A330/340 family (and others) carry 5 Ton of fuel in the trim tank (that is why THS, with trim tank full, flies at minus 3º - only 1º above ground zero set - and this is done) to save about 3% of fuel, due to less drag.
Also, the reason why the elevator flips 30º up and only 15º down is due to the fact that it needs a higher degree up in order to destroy positive lift created by the THS curved wing.

Last edited by Jetdriver; 19th June 2011 at 15:01.
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