Moderators: richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
IFlyVeryLittle wrote:Any idea how that kind of engineering solution was arrived at? Seems like something that wouldn't have been a designer/engineer's first choice.
Aesma wrote:So with that mechanism in mind, to avoid the doors you would just make bulges on the side. Either they didn't like the look of it, of the performance penalty was worse than with the doors.
mxaxai wrote:The door is a far less risky, cheaper and faster solution to problems late in the design process.
bikerthai wrote:A bulge is always easier to design and the aero drag can be estimated if acceptable. A door is way more expensive than a bulge.
mxaxai wrote:And if the engineers had known that the gear would be this large, they almost certainly would've chosen a larger sponson.
Noray wrote:Maybe the sponsons were larger in an earlier design stage and these doors were invented as a measure to reduce their size?