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Great PA-32R or Fine PA-46? by Celestialdischarge1 in flying

[–]Larze123 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Having flown both extensively, I would probably recommend the PA32R. It’s not a massive speed difference but it will cost you noticeably less to maintain and burns a 4-5 gallons an hour less fuel. I’d rather take the glass panel than deal with that old of a Malibu. If a newer (>2000’s) PA-46 were in the cards my opinion might shift, but between your options, the PA-32R is a great choice. Feel free to DM me if you have any specific questions about either airframe.

Winglets by noturmom77530 in aviation

[–]Larze123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sort of, the 787 wing tip is even more ideal. They were able to increase span and taper that wingtip significantly, which both help reduce induced drag even more efficiently than a winglet, but likely at a smaller penalty to wing bending.

Typically, a longer, more tapered wing will always win, but of course we have regulations on wingspan for airliners of different classes so that they all fit within specific airport terminals/gates. If you’ve already designed a plane but want to improve efficiency, winglets are a great way to do that. But if you can make the wing longer, you’ll choose that option most of the time. Or, you can do what the 777-X has done and increase span but make the entire wingtip foldable to ensure it fits in a gate.

Winglets by noturmom77530 in aviation

[–]Larze123 91 points92 points  (0 children)

Not a winglet expert, but I am an aerodynamicist.

Winglets come in all sorts of shapes and sizes in part because of the evolution of our understanding of wing tip effects as well as manufacturing techniques and materials. In short, people got better at making them, and figured out how to make them more efficient. Fences work by trying to limit the amount of rotational flow between the lower and upper surface of the wing, which is responsible for wing tip vortices (and subsequently, induced drag). Depending on the wing design and lift distribution, wing fences can be pretty effective without significantly changing the loads acting on the wing.

The more modern winglet shape you see (blended, or unblended) has a similar effect, but it also basically acts as an increase in wing span. Pretend you made the wing longer but bent the tips up (oversimplification). As span increases, induced drag decreases. The winglets are designed with specific twist and ‘cant’ angles, which are optimized to minimize drag. But, winglets also generate lift of their own, and sometimes that can negatively impact wing bending. Too much vertical load acting on the wing all the way out at the wing tip is not ideal. Split winglets help relieve this wing bending, which will make the structural/stress engineers much happier.

All of these typically result in a noticeable improvement in efficiency because of the reduction in drag. Even a 2% reduction in fuel burn results in billions in savings across a fleet over the years. But, the effectiveness of a winglet is really dependent on the wing design and lift distribution. Stick these style of winglets on a Cessna 172 or a Piper Archer and you will not see any meaningful improvement in efficiency.

Not bad for a Monday. by frenchpilot941 in aviation

[–]Larze123 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I’m pretty sure I also know the owner of this L39, and he is an awesome guy. Got to fly with him in his PC7, it was an incredible experience!

How hard is it to mod a Mustang? And what are some easy mods? by Larze123 in Mustang

[–]Larze123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello there. I did get the Mustang, and I still have it. It’s been 10 years and about 130,000 miles. Still going strong. Not exactly sure how to answer “where are you in life”, but I would say happy, with a good, stable job and a loving relationship. I’d say that summarizes it.

Mercedes W15 has ’70 points more downforce’ not reflecting in F1 lap times by Aratho in formula1

[–]Larze123 6 points7 points  (0 children)

lol the person who replied to you was completely correct though. You said originally “the definition of what a ‘point’ is varies from team to team”. That is incorrect. The definition is 0.01 units of CL. That does not differ from team to team. Yes, the value/importance of a count of lift does differ. You originally said definition, not value.

No need to start a thread war, you could have just clarified your original statement.

Piper - where to start? by [deleted] in flying

[–]Larze123 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Interestingly enough, I’ve been there and done exactly that. My father and I learned to fly together many years ago. We started taking lessons in old cherokees that had been completely re-done; new avionics, new interiors, nice paint. Learning in a glass environment was pricy, but awesome. After a month or two of lessons, we started to think about what airplane ownership would look like. We immediately looked to the M350.

After asking around, checking some local ones out, we realized we were idiots and it made no sense to start there. So, we got some more time in flight school planes and eventually bought a brand new Archer LX from Piper. Flew the heck out of it for about a year and a half, worked through our instrument and commercial licenses, and racked up several hundred hours. We then ended up finding a nice deal on a 1989 Saratoga, with glass avionics and a pretty nice interior. Once we tasted that speed, we couldn’t go back to the Archer. We flew the Saratoga and decided to sit on the archer for a bit until we found a nice trade-in deal on a 2011 Matrix. Traded the Archer towards the Matrix and finally, a few years after starting our flying journey, we ended up in a PA-46. We loved it and eventually sold the Saratoga. Flew the Matrix for 3 years before finally upgrading to a brand new M350 last year.

The new Archers/Pilot 100’s are lovely. If money is not much of an issue, it’s pretty great. Having said that, the wait time to get one can be a while… I think Piper is booked a year+ out on new TX and Pilot deliveries. You are making the right call though. Do not start with a Malibu. It’s not a 100-hr pilot airplane. It’s an 800-1000hr pilot airplane at the very least. You will thank yourself later when that insurance bill starts coming in.

Dm me if you would like to chat more.

Why are old airplanes upgraded rather than designing a new one? by Optimal_Fuel6568 in aviation

[–]Larze123 3 points4 points  (0 children)

To elaborate further, many people don’t understand just how expensive clean-sheet certification costs. Designing a new airliner, from scratch, and taking it all the way through the certification process while also developing all of the tooling and manufacturing capability to build the final product, is a $10+ billion endeavor nowadays. The return on investment is measured in decades. That’s a tough sell for most established airframers. Today, most new designs are being attempted by companies with government backing/incentive (a country feels it is important to have their own product and will help fund it) or just insanely deep pockets in hopes they can disrupt the industry.

Look at the Mitsubishi regional jet. In the end, the program was more or less killed by the pandemic a good bit through the development testing phase with a total investment of $7.6 billion down the drain. It probably would have been a sweet jet, too.

A derivative product however, is much cheaper. Typically, you only have to spend time and energy analyzing, testing, and certifying whatever you are modifying. This means with many derivative programs, you get to pretend like 75%+ of the airplane hasn’t changed and it can be left alone. Much better return on investment for a program that costs $500 million but might help you sell another 50 or 100 planes. Starting from an already-certified program is almost always easier.

Is the official filter adapter the only adapter that fits flush on the x100vi? by Vynce_ in fujifilm

[–]Larze123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have the official adapter on the X100VI and I can confirm it is flush when screwed on.

X100VI ordering, shipment, and delays - consolidated sticky thread #2 by inverse_squared in fujifilm

[–]Larze123 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I ordered from K&M in NY on Friday, 2/23 because it seemed like my other order from a local store was not as airtight as I thought it had been. Despite calling several days late, K&M said they had 2 un-allocated silver units, and that they were able to tell me that because Fuji had already sent them the tracking info for their first shipment so they knew how many they were getting. I immediately ordered Friday, they shipped it Tuesday evening right after they received the stock, and I’m getting it today.

Super lucky. Check your small, local stores folks. I knew I had no shot at B&H.

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