On 8 May 2004, Jay wrote:

I've been wondering which shape is lower drag, a rounded one or a
sharp one.

The most instructive seminar I've attended was one by John Ronce at
Oshkosh a few years ago. He began by drawing a three foot long airfoil
shape, then drew a one-quarter inch dot (the profile of a cable),
he said that each had the same drag. Very hard to believe.

He also said that air will create its own nose profile, against a blunt
or flat shape, that is why wings can have a round front for better angle-
of-attack tolerance.

The drag is caused more by turbulent flow trailing the part.

I left the talk dumbfounded, and still am.

George Graham
RX-7 Powered Graham-EZ, N4449E
Homepage http://bfn.org/~ca266