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Some time ago a Patrol flyer agreed to buy a set of Hoerner style wingtips from Carbon Concepts in Alaska - to try them out. His testing of the wingtips was delayed quite a while as he had some engine problems and ended up replacing a cylinder. But he recently tried them out with good results.
His report on them was not as detailed as I expected as he is a pilot who has loved testing things on his plane - like VG's. He tried several manufacturer's VG's and multiple positions of placement.
He says he can not really say exactly how much slower his stall speed is. His airspeed read zero at the stall with the standard wingtips and with the new ones. But his angle of attack at the stall is noticeably higher than with the standard tips. He and Bob conferred about it and both feel he is stalling slower and also able to approach a little slower. He and Bob calculated about 15 sq ft more of wing area with these tips. That is an 8% increase from the 186 sq ft with the normal wingtips. So a little slower approach and stall speed would seem certain.
I am reporting this not to say that everyone needs these wingtips. I feel the opposite is true. Most Bearhawk flyers do not go into 300-400 ft strips or compete in STOL competitions. And a BH with the standard wingtips does awfully well when compared to other planes. But for those of you who fly into marginal places or want to compete in STOL contests - it appears these do help. Mark
His report on them was not as detailed as I expected as he is a pilot who has loved testing things on his plane - like VG's. He tried several manufacturer's VG's and multiple positions of placement.
He says he can not really say exactly how much slower his stall speed is. His airspeed read zero at the stall with the standard wingtips and with the new ones. But his angle of attack at the stall is noticeably higher than with the standard tips. He and Bob conferred about it and both feel he is stalling slower and also able to approach a little slower. He and Bob calculated about 15 sq ft more of wing area with these tips. That is an 8% increase from the 186 sq ft with the normal wingtips. So a little slower approach and stall speed would seem certain.
I am reporting this not to say that everyone needs these wingtips. I feel the opposite is true. Most Bearhawk flyers do not go into 300-400 ft strips or compete in STOL competitions. And a BH with the standard wingtips does awfully well when compared to other planes. But for those of you who fly into marginal places or want to compete in STOL contests - it appears these do help. Mark
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