(Chris OCallaghan) wrote in message . com...
I don't believe your argument is correct. What determines the lift and
drag coefficients is angle of attact, NOT airspeed. The inner wing is
flying at the same angle of attack as the outer wing, think about it.
Speeding up won't make you climb better.

In fact, the inner wing is not flying at the same airspeed.

Agreed. I didn't say it did.


It has the
same angular speed, but it is transribing a smaller circle than the
outer wing and thus going a shorter distance in the same amount of
time. Both wings are sinking at the same rate, therefore, since the
tangential (straight line) speed of the inner wing is lower, its angle
of attack is higher.

This I do not agree with. The angle of attack of both wings is the
same. The air is impacting both wings from exactly the same angle -
the wings are connected by the fuselage. The inner wing is flying
slower, and thus producing less lift, while the outer wing is flying
faster, and thus producing more lift. The angle of attack and hence
the position on the polar is the same for both wings. You are correct
that both wings are sinking at the same rate, but this does imply that
the both create the same amount of lift.

Incidentally, the reason why you need some contra-aileron in a steep
turn is precisely for this reason - to correct for the net torque
trying to lift the outer, faster, wing!