Gliding with dead engine?

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Dean:
* * 1:1? It has been said the SPAD XIII had the gliging angle of a brick, that would be 0:1
* * *Blue skies,
* * * * * Dan-San

[AchimEngels]

Dan-San,

No, the "Gleitzahl" was the result of deviding the drag by the lift.

Maybe what you are talking about was what the man in Rammjaegers book was talking about, too.

But as a matter of fact that was no dimension that was used by us Germans prior to and during WWI.

It would take much to explain that all here, but we are working on a english translation of my book on the Fokker triplane aerodynamics, too. Its release somewhen in the future might safe me here from doing complicated explanations and calculations. *

Achim

[seppok]

The glide ratio, which is effectively the same as the L/D (lift/drag) ratio, has been calculated for a number of aircraft in this reference http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/...P-468/app-a.htm . I have listed below some values for WW1 fighters. The accuracy of these values depends, of course, on the accuracy of published performance figures and on educated guesses of some parameters. The drag of freely swiveling or stopped propeller is a factor too.

Fok E.III * * * * * * *6.4
DH-2 * * * * * * * * * 7,0
Nie 17 * * * * * * * * 7,9
Alb D.III * * * * * * * 7,5
Fok Dr.I * * * * * * * 8,0
Sopw Camel * * * * *7,7
Spad XIII * * * * * * * * * 7,4
Fok D.VII * * * * * * *8,1

[rammjaeger]

Hi All, thanks for the interesting contributions!

Seppo, that is very interesting stuff!