Turning an airfoil around

[udtsith]

Hi was trying to figure out what would happen if you reversed the wing of a standard prop plane? for example...the thinner wedge is towards the front. Would you still get lift? I suppose not since there is a reason the rounded/thicker edge is facing towards the front. but why not?

 

[A.T.]

Would you still get lift?

With the right angle of attack, yes. But the flow would be more likely to separate.

 

[mathman]

A flat plate can be an airfoil at an angle of attack.

 

[sophiecentaur]

There is more to a wing than just to provide Lift. A well designed wing profile provides lift yet it also keeps the Drag low.

 

[boneh3ad]

Actually, due to the rounded side being in the back, you may or may not generate lift (or at least very little) depending on where separation occurs.

 

[fresh_42]

Vintage aircrafts can easily fly on their back. And on youtube I saw a test pilot flying a barrel roll with a 707.
Aerodynamics of aircrafts are a rather complicated issue.

 

[David Lewis]

A sharp leading edge (LE) can work at very low Reynold's numbers. Dr. Michael Selig tested the LRN1007 airfoil and it performed well.

There are airfoils with a sharp LE and blunt trailing edge (TE), e.g. X-15, but they're designed for supersonic operation. Subsonic airfoils have a tapered trailing edge that comes to a sharp point in order to avoid a turbulent wake and associated bluff body drag.

 

[boneh3ad]

That's not why typical subsonic airfoils come to a point (or at least not the primary reason). See, for example, flatback airfoils commonly found on wind turbines. It's primary purpose is actually setting the rear stagnation point so that a net circulation can develop around the airfoil and lift can be generated. Any reduction in the turbulence of the wake is a bonus.