Quote:
Originally Posted by RVnoob
why did Vans design the elevator counterweights in rectangular shape?
it doesn't look very aerodynamic.
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As an amateur aircraft developer, here's my take on it:
Every airplane ever built consists of a conglomeration of compromises all flying in formation. Everything has tradeoffs. Many things that contribute to lower drag increase the cost, complexity, and build time. Sometimes the relationships between those things run to the square or the cube, and not in the direction you'd want.
My guess is that the mass balance weights are as they are mostly so that people with typical skills can build them from a kit that most enthusiasts can manage to afford. There are certainly other mass-balance schemes that have potentially lower drag, but what Vans uses is a pretty good design. Because of the high Vne that makes the RVs so much fun and so useful, they don't really have the option of not mass-balancing the controls. Doing something heroic like mechanically-linked internal masses (been there done that) adds a bunch of parts that increase the parts count, adds a bunch of pivots and linkages that increase the number of potential failure points, and doesn't subtract all that much drag.
But again, that's just my take on it.
Thanks, Bob K.
http://www.hpaircraft.com/hp-24
Elevator counterweight
Linear Mode
