On 2 Jan 2004 16:17:33 -0800, (Ken Kochanski)
wrote:


What happens when we are pulling, say 1.5 gees, as we thermal. Does
our L/D and sink rate reflect the 1 gee weight ... or the 1.5 gee
'force'.

If you pull any G-force, your wing needs to create more lift.

There are two ways to do this:

1. You fly faster than in level flight, but with the same AoA,
therefore with the same Cl and Cd (= L/D). Sink rate will be higher
due to higher speed.

2. You fly at the same speed as in level flight, resulting in the
necessity to fly at a higher AoA to get a higher Cl.

The higher Cl results in a different (usually higher) Cd of the
airfoil, and in a higher induced drag. Higher drag means higher sink
rate...

In other words: The more G's you pull, the higher your sink rate will
be.



Bye
Andreas