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Psi 5
Nov21-05, 06:12 PM
I've had this idea for a while. I can't see anything wrong with it. Maybe someone here can tell me if it's unsound.

The idea is based on the dimpling of a golf ball. To my knowledge the dimpling of a golf ball reduces air friction and lets it go farther. I even heard of someone dimpling a bat so they could swing faster. Some golf club heads have dimples too.

My idea is to dimple the skin of a jet airliner. Since they pretty much cruise at a constant airspeed the dimpling could be optimized for that speed to reduce air friction and increase fuel efficiency. Is there some physics reason why this wouldn't work?

Danger
Nov21-05, 06:19 PM
Aircraft are pretty well thought-out from an aerodynamic aspect already. The main concern that I would have regarding dimpling is that it would mess up the lift factor of the wings and control surfaces.

Psi 5
Nov21-05, 06:29 PM
Possible but dimples don't keep a golf ball from lifting. Also the fuselage isn't a lifting surface.

ZapperZ
Nov21-05, 06:35 PM
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/q0215.shtml

Zz.

FredGarvin
Nov21-05, 06:46 PM
Also the fuselage isn't a lifting surface.It depends. The space shuttle is a lifting body.

EDIT: Deleted. The link Zapper posted says it better than I can.

FredGarvin
Nov21-05, 07:36 PM
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/q0215.shtml
Zz.Damn. That was the link I was looking for! I knew I had seen it before!