On 2008-06-04, Kyle Boatright wrote:
If you want a stable aircraft in roll, add as much dihedral as possible to
raise the CL. If you want an unstable aircraft, do the opposite. The
anhedral on some on high wing transports is probably designed to give a
desired amount of stability. Some level of stability is great for a
transport, but you don't want to create an aircraft so stable it requires
oversized ailerons to generate the desired roll rate.

Don't forget, also, that the wing in flight may well be flexed upward by a
considerable amount compared to its position on the ground. Check out
inflight pictures of a B-52, and compare them to pictures of the same
aircraft on the ground, for a dramatic example. That anhedral you see on the
ground may well be a significant amount of dihedral at max gross in flight.
--
Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.com
http://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.net
Fairmont, MN (FRM) (Yes, that's me!)
AMD Zodiac CH601XLi N55ZC (ordered 17 March, delivery 10 June)