Drag artist
Hiya Petet,
From my time as a Craft Apprentice at Halton I recall the following types of drag:
1. Induced Drag.
2. Skin Friction Drag.
3. Profile Drag.
Dealing with aforesaid:
1. A winglet or similar feature will help deal with this "pesky" blighter !
Its a drag force that occurs whenever a moving object redirects the airflow coming at it. This drag force occurs in aircraft due to an aileron, elevator or flap redirecting air to cause lift. With other parameters remaining the same, induced drag increases as the angle of attack increases.
2. Skin friction drag has everything to do with the roughness of the aircraft wing surface and is largely determined by the total area of the aircraft which is exposed to the air flowing past it. Since these surfaces are exposed to high speed airflow it is necessary to keep these surfaces clean and smooth. What happens is that a small layer of air may cling to these rough surfaces and create small eddies which contribute to drag. The only way to reduce skin friction drag is by controlling the boundary layer. To keep friction drag to the minimum, the transition from laminar to turbulent airflow has to be delayed for as long as practicable. Buccaneer blown flaps a nice example I think !
3. Profile drag is basically, and I mean basically down to the frontal area of the wing creating resistance to the airflow. All wing attachments and fittings can contribute to this factor including external weapons stores, pods and the like of instrument probes. Bomb bays, etc remove such objects from the airflow and reduce such drag.
My best guess since leaving Halton in 1971. I had a great instructor in Airframe Science, Sqn Ldr John Potter, bit of a lad if I might be so bold. Anyway, hope,I'm nearly there for a non driver airframe. ( unless you count the 500 hours solo gliding )!