Martin
You mention the performance loss on full scale sailplanes when flying thru
rain. Sanded wings (400-600 or finer) to remove the beautiful gloss finish
makes a huge difference when flying thru rain. The water spreads like a
sheet on the wing rather than clinging as individual droplets. Several of my
sailplanes in the past (Phoebus, Libelle, & ASW-20) had their wings sanded
for contouring purposes and left in the non shined condition. They had
little if any performance loss when flying thru rain. I even had the
impression that their performance may have been better. I know wind tunnel
test have been done that would contradict my impression. One thing for sure,
the sanded wings did better in the rain than the beautiful shined ones.
Jerry Robertson
Flagstaff, Az
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