3 ms·
We should try to reconstruct their methods and build a how-to for doing this. Since the data on quite a few planes is out there, it would be really interesting.
by analognoise 11y ago
We should try to reconstruct their methods and build a how-to for doing this. Since the data on quite a few planes is out there, it would be really interesting.
- na85 11y agoAerospace engineer here: I'm on mobile so I won't get into too much detail but if you know or have a good idea of the dimensions of the aircraft, you can get a pretty good approximation of performance characteristics with nothing fancier than an undergraduate flight dynamics textbook. The shape and locations of the various control surfaces, wings, stabilizers, etc. will let you deduce a great deal of the aircraft's handling and stability qualities. You can make educated guesses as to the lift and drag coefficient curves and if you have any performance data (e.g. my friend Ilya saw it going this fast at this altitude) you can go even further by making inferences about the propulsion system. For me the only x-factor would be constructing a 3-view plot of the aircraft when given only a single photo. I guess it would depend on the perspective from which the aircraft was photographed.