Dear Folks –

Leonard wrote:

>Unstreamlined craft have trouble in atmosphere not just because of
>high velocity. At lower velocities they'll have problems with wind
>loading.
>
>Unless the center of pressure (the point at which aerodynamic forces
>"center" as determined by the shape of the hull) is behind the center
>of gravity (where inertial forces center, determind by mass
>distribution) with respect to the direction of travel, wind forces
>and the forces from motion thru the air will try to change the
>orientation of the ship until the CP *is* behind the CG.
>
>Worse, if they are too close together, the ship may have a tendency
>to "tumble" in the relative airstream.

Thank you Leonard! This is the BEST explanation of "Unstreamlined" I've ever
read.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
David "Hyphen" Jaques-Watson ..at.. Beowulf Down (Tavonni/Vilis/SM 1520)
http://www.tip.net.au/~davidjw                    xxxxxx@pcug.org.au
"I file things in historical order, with a hashing algorithm of gravity"