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Old 16th Apr 2013, 08:27
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BOAC
Per Ardua ad Astraeus
 
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Aerofoils in heavy rain

Away from the breathless excitement of R&N and the Bali thread, what do the experts think of this? ('Avoid' if possible is taken as written......)

Looking at a few papers on the topic, I see figures for an 'up to 30% loss of lift at max alpha', a significant reduction in stall angle and a big increase in drag, particularly on a 'dirty' wing, all of which degrade the g/a performance. If you chuck in the simple downforce exerted by a heavy downpour which increases a/c weight...................................

I believe there has been 'advice' in the past on increasing speeds on approach in these conditions, but I am not aware of any specific guidance in Ops Manuals (in my time). Is it in place now? Should it be?

I think there was a brief discussion a few years back on PPrune.
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