Thorp Air Command - T18.net

So here is my most recent bad idea, send your spears!

I recently read "Speed with Economy" by Kent Paser and keep looking over the Thorp for those small areas to clean up. Laminar Flow Systems manufactures stamped flap hinges (for Piper Cherokees) that mock up nicely on the Thorp. How much return will can we actually get? TBD, I am expecting a few mph at most, they claim 2.5 mph on the Cherokee. I'm working with them now to see if I can come up with a minimally intrusive way to test them and see how they work out. They do a good job of matching the Thorp curves at the very least! More to follow...probably will be a few months in the works with my current work schedule.

Szekely,
Andy

https://laminarflowsystems.com/product/ ... gs-8-pair/

$600 for some bits of formed aluminum! I'm coming out of retirement!

_________________
Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

Haha, good point. We don't need 8, and we don't need FAA paperwork which made them significantly cheaper... The owner sent me a rejected set for experimenting.

-Andy

Great! Standing by for the report.

_________________
Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

I ran the "flap hinge" idea by my dad and Lou Sunderland as a kid over dinner one year at SnF in the '80s. As I recall they both appreciated my optimism but convinced me that the minuscule frontal area of the hinge and the angle by which it apposes the air was not worth the effort. Hate to lean towards bursting anyone's bubble but the air frame itself only goes so fast on so much HP ... if you want to go faster up the CI and or HR. Keep in mind that the red line is 210 regardless ... a lot of us are limited by that.

_________________
Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD