Peter Treby wrote: > Why is it sometimes said that a Greenland padde which is > symmetrical in cross section will generate lift. Isn't the flow over > each side of the blade the same when sliced sideways? Only if the angle of attack is zero degrees. Any airfoil will generate lift if it has a positive angle of attack. The issue is usually to get an airfoil that generates optimal lift for minimal drag ... under the conditions of expected use. This is a can of worms, nay, a nest of snakes, nay nay, an ocean of sea serpents, Peter! Theory is very poor in airfoil design, but there is a ginormous body of practical knowledge about airfoils Here are a couple of paragraphs from Wikipedia to when your appetite for the glories of NACA airfoils, high aspect ratio low chord wings, winglets, ailerons, rudders, ad nauseum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfoil -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Dec 01 2007 - 20:13:05 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:27 PDT