Originally Posted by
Ron.G
My question is, what are some of the general implications of a wing pod (my focus on military aircraft more than civilian) that created lift? I could imagine less drag, greater flight time, heavier payload capacity within the pod. But I could also see stability issues at the edges of the flight envelope, etc.
Compared to the same wing (or a similar wing) with no pod, the wing with the pod will generate more drag for the same amount of lift, unless it's a really horrible wing design. The most efficient way to generate lift, in terms of low drag, is with a wing. A pod shape makes a bad aerofoil, so will be less efficient in terms of L/D. So the range will be lower.
What you're doing, when you design the wing/pod(nacelle) interface is trying to minimize the penalty of having some ugly lump stuck on the wing, screwing up the wing aerodynamics. I'll stick my neck out a bit and say that no external shape added to a wing
other than for purely aerodynamic design reasons will improve the wing aerodynamics, compared to that you'd get if the aerodynamic design were not constrained by the need to have a pod or nacelle with something in it.
If pods really improved the wing, we'd put them on even if the engines were mounted at the rear!