Clark Y airfoil
Clark Y is the name of a particular
For many applications the Clark Y has been an adequate airfoil section; it gives reasonable overall performance in respect of its
The Clark YH airfoil is similar but with a reflexed (turned up) trailing edge producing a more positive pitching moment reducing the horizontal tail load required to trim an aircraft.[2][3]
Applications
Aircraft
The Lockheed Vega and Spirit of St. Louis are two of the better known aircraft using the Clark Y profile, while the Ilyushin Il-2 and Hawker Hurricane are examples of mass-produced users of the Clark YH.[4]
The Northrop Tacit Blue stealth technology demonstrator aircraft also used a Clark Y.[1] The Clark Y was chosen as its flat bottom worked well with the design goal of a low radar cross-section.
Model aircraft
The Clark Y has found favor for the construction of model aircraft, thanks to the flight performance that the section offers at medium Reynolds number airflows. Applications range from free-flight gliders through to multi-engined radio control scale models.
The Clark Y is appealing for its near-flat lower surface, which aids in the construction of wings on plans mounted on a flat construction board. Inexperienced modellers are more readily able to build model aircraft which provide a good flight performance with benign stalling characteristics.[5]
Cars
An inverted Clark Y airfoil was used on the spoilers of the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird. [6]
Aircraft
Some of the better-known aircraft that use the Clark Y and YH:
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References
- ^ a b Piccirillo, Albert, "The Clark Y Airfoil - A Historical Retrospective," SAE/AIAA paper 2000-01-5517, presented at the World Aviation Congress & Exposition, October 10, 2000, San Diego, California.
- ^ Lednicer, David, The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage
- ISBN 5-217-00477-0) (History of aircraft design in USSR: 1938-1950)
- ^ a b c Lednicer, David, The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage
- ^ Martin Simons, Model Aeroplane Aerodynamics, Model & Allied Publications 1978. Chapter 7 - 9, Aerofoil Sections.
- ^ (29 June 2005), From NASA to NASCAR, retrieved 29 April 2017
External links
- Clark Y airfoil at airfoiltools.com including coordinate data
- Clary YH airfoil at airfoiltools.com