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Does the airfoil shaped fuselage top of the Dyke Delta add lift?

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StarJar

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
1,723
Location
El Centro, California, USA
Hi,
I was playing around with some flying wing/delta designs, and one can't help but take a look at the Dyke Delta, because it has pretty impressive load carrying ability and speed. With newer airfoils and materials, maybe something could be designed that would perform even better and be easier to build.
When I started playing around with this idea, I kept looking at that shape of the top of the fuselage (and windshield) and although it's been claimed that it adds lift, I started to doubt it. 1103_Dyke-7_sm.jpg1103_Dyke-2.jpg

I could see how this might possibly be true on the Wittman Tailwind, because you have a wing that can keep low pressure air from sliding off the top of the fuselage.
But with the Dyke Delta, it seems that there is no way the air will actually follow a straight path over the fuselage, to gain any meaningful lift.
Wouldn't a rounded streamlined canopy (ei. most low wing planes) and rounded top (front/rear view) end up giving you less drag, to make it perform better overall? This is my question.
 
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