Hi Schneiderman
Thank you for the R.A.E. report. It appears that the under wing radiators created the most disturbance and this in turn would have effected the ailerons when in use. Of course the ailerons were an integral part of the wing on the wind tunnel model and therefore were never tested in use. At one point the model was tested with the tailplane removed, i do not understand why.
Our model in the Bristol wind tunnel was also tested without moving the ailerons or the elevator and as stated before, the problem was caused by the tailplane being in line with the wing, but now i see that that it might have also been enhanced by the radiator air flow. It should be noted that our model was to 1/6 scale whereas the R.A.E. model was to 1/8 scale. It is strange that the pilot said that he always felt that he was being followed when he flew it. I often wonder if the elevator fluttered.
I have always found aerodynamics fascinating. Years ago i tried to get into London University to study it but my maths were not good enough although i have gained a lot of knowledge through building and flying r/c models. A knowledge that cant be obtained with plastic models, but i have nothing against that (he quickly added !)
Roy.