Do clean airplanes go faster?

Fast planes don't need to be clean, since they go by so fast.

Slow planes MUST be clean, otherwise people like me will say "Why doesn't that guy clean his plane"

Reminds me, Candy needs a bath. Time to call the detailer.
 
When talking piston singles, wind (head v tail) is a bigger factor than HP or drag. Also, who flys WOT and ROP in cruise? Those who waste gas and engine life?
 
The early Rutan canards suffered from significant pitch changes due to bugs or rain on the canard. Sometimes even enough of a change where the trim couldn't compensate for it.
 
TFulwider said:
The early Rutan canards suffered from significant pitch changes due to bugs or rain on the canard. Sometimes even enough of a change where the trim couldn't compensate for it.
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Then a bird strike on the cunard would be a disaster no doubt. If bug splats on a control surface cause an aircraft to become unstable then that is a plane to stay away from.
 
citizen5000 said:
Then a bird strike on the cunard would be a disaster no doubt. If bug splats on a control surface cause an aircraft to become unstable then that is a plane to stay away from.
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Not unstable, just a change in pitch trim. They used a bungee trim system that didn't have a lot of authority. Worst case scenario your hand gets slightly tired from holding back a bit on the stick.

They redesigned the canard and solved the issue.
 
cgrab said:
While you are washing it, you could get a ball peen hammer and put dimples on the wings. It works for golf balls.
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Rebel Lord said:
When I get my plane I'm probably going to baby it, but does keeping somthing like a 172 or pa-28 super clean and waxed actually help performance much?
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At car speeds dirt doesn't matter.

At car speeds dimples do help.

United Airlines only cleans the exterior of their planes every 50 days, suggesting that the bean counters there don't think that dirt matters much even at jet speeds.

Dimples and dirt: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/22/mythbusters-golf-ball-like-dimpling-mpg/
 
The fornicating flies are bad enough this time of the year that you have to clean them off. They smell bad, the goo eats paint, and the longer you leave them on there the harder they are to get off. A good coat of paste wax early in the season helps but in the end a good brush with soap and water seems to get them off the easiest for me.
 
Shepherd said:
Seriously, the higher performance the bird is, the more it benefits from keeping the skin clean, polished and slick.
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Unless it was your F-4 right Shep? Ain't no dirt holding that beast back!
 
Twin_Flyer said:
Mick, That's a seriously detailed plane you have there...:yes: What's your secret??? :happydance:
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Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax
http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product/ultimate-wax-liquid
And
Black Fire Dry Wash
http://www.autogeek.net/waterless-car-wash-kit1.html

I got my plane painted in 2015. After the paint had time to cure I waxed it with Meguiar's Ultimate Wax. After three months I applied a second coat of wax. Three more months a third coat of wax. That was May of last year. Since then I have not washed or waxed the plane at all. I just wipe the plane down after each flight using the Black Fire waterless wash spray to get the bugs off. The polymers in the Black Fire spray keeps the wax job in great shape and the plane super clean. Fortunately I have a hangar. That really helps a lot to keep it in good shape too. The picture in my earlier post was taken a couple of weeks ago...after almost a year without a real wash job or waxing!
 
I'm so overdue to wash and wax. You never appreciate how huge the surface area on an airplane is until you wash and wax it...


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Nice thing about airplanes is you never drive them down a dirty highway in the rain behind an 18 wheeler so they don't get too dirty too fast. But yes, my experience has been that you can get a few knots (3-5 maybe) difference between very dirty and freshly polished and waxed on my ~200 KTAS airplane. Mostly, I like to keep it clean for the same reason I keep my cars clean - looks better and I enjoy my toys, so why not give them a little attention every once in a while?full.jpg
 
My balls go faster after they've been scrubbed........ errr my golf balls.
 
mscard88 said:
Unless it was your F-4 right Shep? Ain't no dirt holding that beast back!
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The beast was so ugly even the air didn't want to touch it. No air, no resistance, and that means more speed.
And that, boys and girls, is the secret to how the Double Ugly got to be so fast.
 
In aero class in school the instructor would say "Given enough thrust anything can fly, take the F-4 for example..."
 
TFulwider said:
The early Rutan canards suffered from significant pitch changes due to bugs or rain on the canard. Sometimes even enough of a change where the trim couldn't compensate for it.
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About the 14 minute mark. Kinda scary. Think most of the Rutan guys have switched to Roncz canards and don't have the problem anymore. Bugs don't affect mine but I get a pitch change (up) flying through clouds / rain.

 
Skywalker said:
They do go faster... :D

We baby our Mooney and clean her after every flight during summer - or as soon as the bug season starts. It's just nicer to come back to a clean plane the next time we go flying. You may also see upcoming issues early.
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Good intentions don't seem to get her clean. I got my Mooney in early March or so and had a zillion things to do before vacation, causing me to not wash her yet. She is filthy. I hope to clean her up as soon as I get back from Europe. I am thoroughly enjoying my European vacation, but being away from my new (to me) Mooney is killing me. If it is bad weather when I get home maybe I will finally wash her. If it is flying weather I will probably succumb to flying her first.
 
Shepherd said:
The beast was so ugly even the air didn't want to touch it. No air, no resistance, and that means more speed.
And that, boys and girls, is the secret to how the Double Ugly got to be so fast.
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The gobs and gobs of JP-4 blowing out the afterburners of the J79's at 3200F didn't hurt the Rhino's speed either:D.

Cheers
 
Cleaned! Speed trials to follow..

eff26108cec0334c0a1fcdf92aebdb28.jpg



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