Aerodynamics of high-winged fighters.

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Nope.
Any source that confirms that 14K on the P.24 had 930 HP on 4000m?
1704737429788.png


1704737759468.png

"PZL P.24 A-G" by A.Glass, Kagero, 2007
 
As you've just proved, it does.
I proved quite opposite.
Thank you.
So it is 930 HP at 3770, not 4000. Re.2000 had 1000 HP at 4000m, it was still unable to make 540-560. The I-180-2 had 950 HP at 4500m, barely making it into the stipulated 540-560 km/h bracket.
It doesn't matter. The difference by values is negligible to explain the maximum speed difference of >100 kph. And yes - it was a challenge to reach 560 kph with 950hp, however it _was_ possible. The P.24F was 110(!!!!) kph slower with more powerful engine and (I guess) a better manufacturing quality.
 
I proved quite opposite.
It doesn't matter.

Wonderful.

And yes - it was a challenge to reach 560 kph with 950hp, however it _was_ possible.

It was possible. It was also far easier achievable with a V12 in the nose, on a modern and streamlined airframe.

The difference by values is negligible to explain the maximum speed difference of >100 kph. <snip> The P.24F was 130(!!!!) kph slower with more powerful engine and (I guess) a better manufacturing quality.

Trying to milk the fixed U/C, strutted high wing concept past 1935-ish was an own goal, and what an own goal it was.
 
It was possible. It was also far easier achievable with a V12 in the nose, on a modern and streamlined airframe.
I compared only _monoplane_ _fighters_ with _similar_ _radial_ engines. And I just want to know the reason of the observed maximum speed difference of >=100 kph. It is toooo much to be explained by strut/gear drag only.
Trying to milk the fixed U/C, strutted high wing concept past 1935-ish was an own goal, and what an own goal it was.
Even a manic obsession with a high-mounted strutted wing has to be justified somehow. :)
 
I compared only _monoplane_ _fighters_ with _similar_ _radial_ engines. And I just want to know the reason of the observed maximum speed difference of >=100 kph. It is toooo much to be explained by strut/gear drag only.

If I'm reading the Table 2 right, just the struts + U/C on the P.11 were "worth" more than 47 km/h combined.
 
I have no problems doing that.
I don't think that's something to be proud of.
You can just ignore me - I swear I won't write a word in response to you in that case. I think it's a great option for both of us.
 
I am not sure that you can obtain reliable coefficients by simulation in this case - were the simulations verified by the experimental data (e.g., wind tunnel blowing of the P.11 models)?
But we need rough estimates for clean build. Struts can increase drag of fighter around 10%. So it is 3.3% lower speed. I think that in real P.11c the biggest source of drag were wings.
The P.24F was 110(!!!!) kph slower with more powerful engine and (I guess) a better manufacturing quality.
As I wrote earlier it had very draggy wing and fuselage surface.

I compared only _monoplane_ _fighters_ with _similar_ _radial_ engines.
You should look at PZL P.1 The concept of high gull wing shines with V-12 engine. Less drag, better forward visibility.
The best airframe of this line was PZL P.8. It had better aerodynamics with better stressed skin technology for wings.

The most interesting high wing project is probably Z-17:
samolotypolskie.pl - PWS Z-17 "Sęp I"
Superb visibility. I think that this idea can be improved by using much longer, single struts functioning as an additional lifting surface. It could also fix problems with aeroelastic instability of forward-swept wing.
 
Last edited:
But we need rough estimates for clean build.
If you simulate the behavior of a large complicated object you need a large complicated grid for simulations. I have no experience with CFD, but I used simulation software to solve heat transfer problems. Does size matter in this case? Or CFD algorithms use other principles?
Struts can increase drag of fighter around 10%. So it is 3.3% lower speed. I think that in real P.11c the biggest source of drag were wings.
3.3% amounts ~15-16 kph - it is too few even according the Table 2.
As I wrote earlier it had very draggy wing and fuselage surface.
Ok, what exactly was wrong? Airfoil? Inductive drag? Fuselage surface - it was all-metal airplane, I can't imagine how it was possible to achieve such high friction drag. But I will agree if you give me an example.
You should look at PZL P.1 The concept of high gull wing shines with V-12 engine. Less drag, better forward visibility.
The best airframe of this line was PZL P.8. It had better aerodynamics with better stressed skin technology for wings.
350 kph with a 760hp engine? Even I-15 with 635hp M-25 was faster...
The most interesting high wing project is probably Z-17:
samolotypolskie.pl - PWS Z-17 "Sęp I"
Superb visibility.
I am not so sure. Seems, the wings block the back/side view at the most dangerous angle ranges.
I think that this idea can be improved by using much longer, single struts functioning as an additional lifting surface. It could also fix problems with aeroelastic instability of forward-swept wing.
Ok, it was an interesting idea. But still I doubt any positive effect from struts.
 
Last edited:
What exactly aerodynamic flaws in the P.24 caused such a loss in speed? It's really not quite clear to me. For example, I could refer to the discussion between Polikarpov and TsAGI (Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, the leading Soviet research center for aerodynamics) about the I-15/I-153 (gull-type) wing. Polikarpov proved that the gull-type scheme does not have the disadvantages attributed to it by TsAGI and provides similar parameters as the "straight" wing. The P.24 wing scheme has a clear similarity to the gull type, so the reasons for the high aerodynamic drag are not obvious to me. Airplanes with open canopy, non-metallic wing skin and worse wing profile fabrication (typical for Soviet airplanes) demonstrated a higher flight performance with less engine power. Even some biplanes with approximately equal engine power (with even larger diameter!) outperformed the P.24. Why? I have already spoken about the non-retractable landing gear. There remain struts - apparently, the drag created by them was higher than previously estimated. Or are there other factors? Cowling? It was just terrible on the I-16. What else?
I could tell you "exactly what aerodynamics flaws in the P.24 caused..." about the same time as I get access to a) high quality drawings of the aircraft b) some high-end CFD software, c) a decent computer and, optionally, d) a wind tunnel. This is also presuming I get comparable data on the aircraft to which you're comparing it.

Actually, giving the data (and an appropriate consulting fee) to Dave Lednicer would be a much better idea.
 
It was Mikhail Goudkov (Gudkov) who tried to install M-82 on the LaGG-3 in the early 1942 - I mentioned it already. No documents on transfer of the cowling design from Soukhoi (Sukhoi) to Goudkov have been found until now. The design of the Gu-82 cowling was a bit similar to the Su-2 one, but in no way exactly the same.
It's very well documented that Lavochkin and Gorbunov mated the engine/cowling from an Su-2 onto the front of a LaGG-3 airframe.

Prove otherwise.
 
It's very well documented that Lavochkin and Gorbunov mated the engine/cowling from an Su-2 onto the front of a LaGG-3 airframe.
I would appreciate any references to documents.
Prove otherwise.
It's the presence, not the absence, that needs to be proven. I have not seen anywhere any mention of _documents_ about transfer of drawings from Sukhoi to Lavochkin. What was written in popular literature was often just unsubstantiated opinion. It is enough to look at the cowlings of the La-5 and the Su-2 to realize that they are quite different.
The question was studied not so long ago by Gennady Serov, he failed to find in the archives any mention of the transfer of the drawings to Lavochkin. But he managed to find the name of an employee from the design bureau of Shvetsov, who helped Lavochkin a lot with the engine cowling. And the "design" itself was carried out on an urgent basis, often based on sketches, not official drawings.
Gorbunov did not design any new versions of the LaGG, unlike Gudkov. He suggested a project of a dive bomber which was never built.
It was GUDKOV who designed the Gu-82 with a Su-2 type cowling. Perhaps even using Sukhoi's drawings. But not Lavochkin or Gorbunov.
Gu-82:
1704785294900.png


Su-2 M-82:
1704785071277.png


LaGG-5:
1704785337480.png
 

Attachments

  • 1704785048932.png
    1704785048932.png
    74.1 KB · Views: 6
350 kph with a 760hp engine? Even I-15 with 635hp M-25 was faster...
675 hp without supercharger and ram effect. And don't forget that total wing area matters, it is 18m2 vs. 21.9m2.
With same engine power and ceiling it would be 394 vs. 367 kph - 27 kph adventage.
23% higher wing area in case of I-15, 21% higher third power of speed in case of P.8. No magic here. Quite equivalent airframes using struts, but P.8 prototype is ready 2 years earlier and not developed to production aircraft (without aerodynamic tweaks).

Fuselage surface - it was all-metal airplane, I can't imagine how it was possible to achieve such high friction drag. But I will agree if you give me an example.
Why do you think that metal means faster? Actually wooden surfaces were usually much smoother in the era.
Metal allowed for easy stressed skin construction that was inherently water-proof, but there were stressed skin wooden airplanes too (perfected by Fokker, Mosquito is also a beautyful example). The biggest metal advantage is ability to scale production.
I am not so sure. Seems, the wings block the back/side view at the most dangerous angle ranges.
In polish fighteres there were rearview mirrors. Sudden attack from behind was impossible. And with eyes level aligned with wing surface the arc covered by wings is very minimal, you can see that wing part close to fuselage became very thin for the purpose of increased visibility.
But still I doubt any positive effect from struts.
And thats why idiot-engineers are using them all the time?
Strut lowers a weight at the expense of increased drag. If is a clear tradeoff!
For fast aircrafts with heavy (high total mass fraction) engines that tradeoff became not favorable (actually the important thing is mass of engine, propeller and fuel with all installations).
 
Last edited:
What exactly aerodynamic flaws in the P.24 caused such a loss in speed?
There is no single dominant reason, just a lot small factors. The biggest are draggy technology of wings, Towend ring instead of naca cowling, fixed landing gear, struts.
It makes no sense to improve them one by one, new modern airframe was needed. Unfortunately before the war Polish Air Force was concentrated on bomber and multirole (failed) programs, so classic fighter of next generation was not ready on time.

Generally speaking PZL P.1 is an aircraft from 1929. Much improved P.8 is from 1931. Their brilliant constructor died in 1932 in air crash accident, unfortunately he was the only one who had authority "soft political power" to promote new modern technologies and ideas in air force.
P.7 is a radial engine variant, introduced in line in 1933. P.11c and P.24 are the following parallel development lines using newer and heavier engines (for single and double radials), with first deliveries in 1936. They didn't use the new improved and less draggy, smoother wing design of P.8! The lack of closed canopy and aerodynamic improvements in P.11c was a choice of customer, it is the same generation as P.24 with Bristol engines.
PZL.38 prototype (low wing monoplane with retractable landing gear) was ready in 1937, and it also had issues with wavy wing surface and lack of smooth riveting, that clearly lowered max speed by ~30 kph (there was a problem with aerodynamic tunnel correlation).
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back