Hi. Leading edge wrap - worthwhile??

[rmullins]

Now that sounds REALLY cool (and feasible). I would be willing to experiment with that, with some double sticky tape I could always take them back off. Do you recall if there were any negative effects of placing them on the bottom?

[danerazz]

That sounds plausible, I would like to see some testing on that, interesting concept.

[rmullins]

yeah, that's what I meant to say...plausible...

[av8rps]

Great! I'm glad to hear someone wants to prove whether VG's under the leading edge works or not.

But before doing anything, let me find my information first so I can help save some time for you. As the more I think about it the VG's on the bottom of the wing were installed right behind the leading edge, not 1/3 of the way back. I remember seeing pictures because it looked a bit strange. I think I still have the pic, along with explanations of how to do, why, and the reported results. So give me a few days to find all that.

Oh yeah, I'm somewhat hesitant to say what I remember he gained with those VG's below the LE, but if I recall correctly the speed increase was as high as 10 mph. If true, that could be pretty tremendous for our planes. And as far as I know it had no negative effect on any other handling characteristics.

[Johnny C!]

I am interested in the cruise speed increase
possibility of the VG on the bottom thing.
I can't remember who Just buys them from,
but I bet they (the mfg) would willing to
weigh in on this, because if it works they
would sell more. And they probably have
CFD software (Computational Flow Design)
which will take some of the risk out before
someone has to try it out in the real thing.

I googled a bit for them. It's Land Shorter.
There is a testimonial by Gary on their site.

http://www.landshorter.com/page3.html


I am excited about this one!

John

[Dave Krall CFII SEL SES]

I am interested in the cruise speed increase
possibility of the VG on the bottom thing.
I can't remember who Just buys them from,
but I bet they (the mfg) would willing to
weigh in on this, because if it works they
would sell more. And they probably have
CFD software (Computational Flow Design)
which will take some of the risk out before
someone has to try it out in the real thing.

I googled a bit for them. It's Land Shorter.
There is a testimonial by Gary on their site.

http://www.landshorter.com/page3.html


I am excited about this one!

John

I think Harrison makes the micro VGs.

[av8rps]

FYI - I'm going to post the info regarding the VG's on the bottom of the wing under a new topic called "VG's on bottom of wing for more speed?"

I thought the interest justified putting it under a new topic.

[mhcrowder]

Ok, Just returned home after a trip to Walhalla and the Just Aircraft factory tour. I asked Troy about whether the leading edge wrap was an option I needed. I asked him if it would give a speed advantage. He said that he wouldn't add it to his airplane, opting to keep it light, but indicated I should get the advice of the forum group as to it's overall benefits....so here I am? It's been almost two years since this thread has been updated and I was wondering what the consensus is now on the merits of the Aluminum Leading Edge Wrap? Another question I forgot to ask, how much time is save by having them do it at the Just Factory?

I got a little overwhelmed at the factory and forgot to ask a lot of questions..... And once I got a ride in the demo SuperStol my head was spinning.

Thanks Guys,
Michael Crowder

[danerazz]

Haven't flown it yet, but I did get the leading edge wrap factory installed, and the QB wings, and the wings set to the fuselage. All in all, the QB wings and wings set to fuselage are pretty cheap for the amount of work they do. When they added the leading edge wrap, the installation is pretty pricey (by comparison to the QB wings, but cheap compared to "other" aircraft QB standards), but as a package of all of the above I got the wings built, strut attach fittings are installed, fuel tanks installed, wing root doublers installed, wings already mated to the fuselage, flaps and ailerons built (well, ribs attached to spar tubes), leading edge wrap installed. Things that still had to be done by me: install trailing edge, install hinge points, install wingtip braces, install wing tips, install pulley mounts, install flap/aileron hinges, trailing edges and leading edges, smooth everything out for covering.

I am building in a really small space, so having the factory build the wings was probably cheaper than me just building the jig to do so, and I don't have the space to put the wings on and mess around with them for fitting prior to covering (will do it once in the driveway to make sure everything is good before covering though).

The leading edge wrap installation is what gets the fuel tanks installed. The biggest thing about the LE wrap is it looks nice. It looks like a "real" airplane. You really don't see any certified stuff flying with scalloped LE fabric. Also, there is some speculation that it "smooths out" the airflow for more effective VG function and low speed handling, though this seems to be purely conjecture, then there is the weight penalty.

[Dave Krall CFII SEL SES]

Haven't flown it yet, but I did get the leading edge wrap factory installed, and the QB wings, and the wings set to the fuselage. All in all, the QB wings and wings set to fuselage are pretty cheap for the amount of work they do. When they added the leading edge wrap, the installation is pretty pricey (by comparison to the QB wings, but cheap compared to "other" aircraft QB standards), but as a package of all of the above I got the wings built, strut attach fittings are installed, fuel tanks installed, wing root doublers installed, wings already mated to the fuselage, flaps and ailerons built (well, ribs attached to spar tubes), leading edge wrap installed. Things that still had to be done by me: install trailing edge, install hinge points, install wingtip braces, install wing tips, install pulley mounts, install flap/aileron hinges, trailing edges and leading edges, smooth everything out for covering.

I am building in a really small space, so having the factory build the wings was probably cheaper than me just building the jig to do so, and I don't have the space to put the wings on and mess around with them for fitting prior to covering (will do it once in the driveway to make sure everything is good before covering though).

The leading edge wrap installation is what gets the fuel tanks installed. The biggest thing about the LE wrap is it looks nice. It looks like a "real" airplane. You really don't see any certified stuff flying with scalloped LE fabric. Also, there is some speculation that it "smooths out" the airflow for more effective VG function and low speed handling, though this seems to be purely conjecture, then there is the weight penalty.

When guys are longing for such so-called "real" airplane looks, especially with weight penalties, I am always reminded that the standard Highlander beats out the certificated and other various competition, just the way it is. Now THAT'S a real airplane, and what one looks like.