Ian Weinberg

4 years ago · 4 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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On a wing and a prayer

On a wing and a prayer

41,
i" “Cm 5 |
2908

I have always had this passion for flight and flying. One of the highlights of my earlier days  (when I was still a ravishing brunette) was to take to the skies of Africa in my Thunderbird, a small plane-microlight hybrid. On one occasion towards the end of my active flying career and on returning to the airfield after a relatively long haul, an idea occurred to me about adding a component to the wing to increase the lift. But like many of my flights of thoughts and ideas, this one too got diluted out with the march of time ... until three months ago. For some reason it resurfaced. Once I had a lock on it I was driven to seriously explore the concept. So the thing was about increasing the lift of the wing of an aircraft on take-off which would reduce the fuel requirements significantly since much of the fuel is burnt up in a large airliner, on take-off.

I went into reflection mode which shortly thereafter morphed into implementation mode and before I knew it I was in full driven flight mode. Wow thought I, if this works I’ll have a serious patent on my hands. I’ll sell it to Boeing and Airbus and still take royalties on every plane made with my design. And with my gazillions I’ll retire to a tropical island ... but I digress. I still had to build the damn thing. So for the uninitiated, here follows a brief description of the principles of lift and how I planned to revolutionize air travel!

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Essentially the wing has four important components: the curved front or leading edge; the curved upper surface; the flat under surface; and the flattened, sharp back edge – the trailing edge. Lift occurs when the curved leading edge moves through the air, splitting and diverting the upper surface stream while allowing the flow to continue undisturbed across the lower surface. By splitting and diverting the upper stream, an area of low pressure forms just behind the leading edge – rarified air. The pressure here is significantly lower than the parallel or laminar flow of the air crossing the lower surface. The difference in pressure between the upper and lower surfaces, the pressure differential, creates the lift.

So enter Weinberg and his revolutionary new aerofoil invention - the soon to be famous Vent and Duct System (VDS). Simply, the concept works on the basis of a controllable vent on the upper surfaces of both wings just behind the leading edge. In normal flight the vents are closed. On take-off however the vents are opened to tap off more of the upper surface air and thus the pressure and channel this through the wing to exit in slit-like exhaust outlets shielded in the trailing edge. While I had collected readings of pressure studies on all aspects of the wing, there were no reliable pressure readings on a shielded middle section of the trailing edge.

To work then. I purchased all the Balsa wood that I thought I would need for a one meter wing span. I also purchased an electronic servo together with a wire connectable controller which I planned to use to mechanically open and close the vents equally and simultaneously. The controller was designed to deliver small increments of current to vary the opening distances. When the vents were closed they would need to be as flush as possible with the surface skin of the wing.

I began building the wing. Ribs were copied from online available templates, applied to the wood and cut out. Thereafter ribs were glued to the main spar running from end to end. Leading edges and trailing edges were then fashioned and stuck together. To say that I was absorbed in the project is an understatement. I was obsessed and driven. For two months I would return home from consulting or from surgery and go straight back to the wing. My concerned wife was becoming convinced that she was losing her husband to a wing!

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I had to keep planning ahead. The thickness of the wing had to accommodate the vent controlling mechanism. I had to complete the upper surface first before completing the housing for the servo. With upper surface and servo in place I created the vents and then their controlling mechanism. And then came the ultimate challenge, more complicated than the most challenging brain surgery. I had to control the vent mechanisms on port and starboard with a rotating servo connected via fishing gut. To do this I had to resort to using my surgical loupes for appropriate magnification.

Then came the moment of truth. With servo in place and connected, I energized the controller and began testing the function of the vents. Suddenly there was a noise akin to the snapping of a guitar string – one of the gut lines had pulled out a guide loop from deep in the innards of the wing. After expressing the obligatory curses I set to work again repairing the damage.

Two months later we’re done. Everything is connected, sealed and painted in metallic silver splendor. Additionally I’ve created a launch pad with four pistons connected to the wing and inserted into well lubricated cylinders to facilitate straight up lift. A special platform is created above the construct to provide a surface for the controller and power pack. Now all I need is my vacuum cleaner with the suction reversed into a blower to create a wind tunnel. But try as I may, I just couldn’t get an adequate draft. It was indeed a failed blow job!

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In desperation I turned to my pilot buddy who owns a squadron of planes to provide an adequate draft from a plane prop. We decided on a twin-engine plane so that I could perch behind the prop without the fuselage getting in the way.

At last the day arrives. We haul out a twin-engine Cessna. Decide to go for a flip first, just to get into flying mode. Return to the airfield after a couple of tight maneuvers and park the plane. Thereafter I perch myself on the top of the tractor with my construct weighted down. 

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My buddy fires up the port engine and sure as shite, my wing lifts briskly and hovers. And then the moment of truth – the moment that will mark a major new aeronautical innovation. I open the vents ... and the wing drops like a stone! Disbelieving I repeat the process. And again it drops like a stone. It’s a complete failure. All those dreams shattered. Eight weeks of painstaking work, to what end? We stand around the forlorn contraption trying to figure out what just happened. I actually know but refuse to believe it. But then my aviator buddy spells it out, ‘instead of sucking it blew!’ And as my dopamine levels diminish to sub-threshold levels and a touch of hopeless-helplessness kicks in I’m reminded that the real gratification was in the doing. Hell it’s been fun. And I did prove something in all of this – the trailing edge has a higher pressure than the upper surface. I regain a spring in my step as we walk towards the club-house for the much needed conciliatory fluid refreshments.


Comments

Ian Weinberg

4 years ago #16

#15
Thanks Joyce.

Ken Boddie

4 years ago #15

#17
you and me both, Joyce \ud83d\udc1d Bowen Brand Ambassador @ beBee.
Still trying to figure out what Ken Boddie are smoking...
#13
OOOOOO Ken Boddie. tsk tsk
Hahaha Such a comical youthful adventure. And then there's this "(when I was still a ravishing brunette)" Hard to imagine--but fear not--I'm sure your wife still thinks you are ravishing. Great story, Ian.

Ken Boddie

4 years ago #11

#10
"Airy and windy" it sure is, Praveen Raj Gullepalli. Ian's concept really blew me away, but I recovered easily 'cause I'm a big fan. 🤣

Ian Weinberg

4 years ago #10

#11
Thanks Praveen - it may yet turn out to be ‘work in progress’

Ian Weinberg

4 years ago #9

#8
Thanks for that Paul. Talking about the tropical island bit, with much regret I won’t be able to return to your paradise. Medical advice is that I could still pick up dengue fever part 2. So while I aspired to a touch of slothdom, the thought of being buried in Bali is somewhat less appealing!

Paul Walters

4 years ago #8

Ian Weinberg You do realise that one can live on a tropical island without the gazillions!! Great story and I'm with your wife on this one, stick to brain surgery although it was a great story !! www.paulvwalters.net

Ken Boddie

4 years ago #7

#6
Great minds think alike, Ian, or is it fools seldom differ? 🤣 I had similar thoughts of post grad research and smoke in a proper wind tunnel. Perhaps I’ve retained more than I thought of my uni fluid dynamics. As they say, a little (or in my case miniscule) knowledge is a dangerous thing. 🤣😂🤣

Ian Weinberg

4 years ago #6

#4
Right on the button Ken. Both thoughts occurred to us. To complete the study we're going to require smoke in a formal wind tunnel. Thinking of approaching a post-grad in aeronautics to take it further.

Ian Weinberg

4 years ago #5

#3
Thanks Neil. It has been suggested that my contraption would work to keep things really grounded!

Ken Boddie

4 years ago #4

How about adapting your invention to the rear spoiler of a car, Ian, where the intention is to decrease lift potential? Not sure how the air is transmitted through the wing, but if it acts like a pipe then there may be a Venturi effect in action? Could there be accidental turbulence at the exit point of the trailing edge, thus stuffing up the lift created in laminar flow?

Neil Smith

4 years ago #3

Hey, it's a successful experiment. The results didn't back your hypothesis but you gained data and insight. I look forward to reading about your updated, version 2 report.  Or about your divorce on wing related issues. 🛩️✈️🛫

Ian Weinberg

4 years ago #2

#1
I was just winging it.

Pascal Derrien

4 years ago #1

Is it when your wife told you not to give up the day job ;-) Now don't try this on patient please !!! :-)

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