Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: FLS on February 15, 2011, 07:28:15 AM

Title: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: FLS on February 15, 2011, 07:28:15 AM
This is such a cool looking instrument.  I'm wondering how it actually works. It appears that it simply measures the rotation of the spinner on the top. It starts spinning when the prop starts but it doesn't show anything on the dial until the aircraft is moving forward. Once in the air it shows IAS instead of TAS. It seems like it should be showing TAS but I wonder how it would even work when it's located in the propwash.  So I'm curious about the real gauge as well as how it's modeled in Aces high.
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: olds442 on February 15, 2011, 09:59:11 AM
This is such a cool looking instrument.  I'm wondering how it actually works. It appears that it simply measures the rotation of the spinner on the top. It starts spinning when the prop starts but it doesn't show anything on the dial until the aircraft is moving forward. Once in the air it shows IAS instead of TAS. It seems like it should be showing TAS but I wonder how it would even work when it's located in the propwash.  So I'm curious about the real gauge as well as how it's modeled in Aces high.
i think that it would read the wind off the prop but they would turn the needel to 0 so if the prop makes 20mph on idel the turn a noob till the needel goes to 0and so on
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: hitech on February 15, 2011, 02:21:15 PM
We have nothing in the game to make something spin based on airspeed. So the animation is simply hooked to the prop.

How they worked I would GUESS would simply be a small generator and a volt meter for the gauge.

2nd I believe they would measure true airspeed instead of airspeed , which is very undesirable.


HiTech
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: FLS on February 15, 2011, 03:55:39 PM
Thanks! True airspeed might have been useful if your biggest worry was going so fast things start to break.
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: FLS on February 16, 2011, 04:52:41 AM
On second thought things break from air pressure so that would probably still be IAS.
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: Citabria on February 16, 2011, 06:04:45 AM
things break based on ias just like irl.

tas is what you worry about at near compressability higher mach speeds.

for all intents and purposes in the low alt 25% fueltard ww1 arena TAS is irrelevant and only IAS is a concern at higher speeds near engine and structural failure.
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: GNucks on February 16, 2011, 06:14:10 AM
intents and purposes

Somebody on the internet actually wrote that expression correctly...

(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTo0e-dMO3_ZuXeA1AHMU_X9C5a_DL85AoWWNVTcegfVEnV2og6NQ)
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: colmbo on February 16, 2011, 11:28:07 AM

2nd I believe they would measure true airspeed instead of airspeed , which is very undesirable.

Anything that works from the energy of the relative wind is going to be indicated airspeed -- unless this thing has an Air Data Computer in it. <G>
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: FLS on February 16, 2011, 04:44:55 PM
Wouldn't the advancing spoke add resistance proportional to the air density? Of course I don't know what resistance the generator would put on the axis and what portion of total resistance that would be.
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: hitech on February 17, 2011, 11:44:36 AM
Anything that works from the energy of the relative wind is going to be indicated airspeed -- unless this thing has an Air Data Computer in it. <G>


Based on the pitch of the prop, it will make a helix as it passes threw the air. Since there be almost zero slip of the prop due to no loading, the helix will not change dimension with speed or density.  And hence the same number of revolutions will be created per unit of travel regardless of the density.

This is very different from a modern pitot tube speed gauge that is messaging pressure/force on a diaphragm instead of speed with an air screw.

HiTech
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: Sid on February 22, 2011, 07:38:09 AM
(http://www.swift72.co.uk/forum_pics/Morell-anemometer.jpg)(http://www.swift72.co.uk/forum_pics/Morell-anemometer-txt.jpg)

naca-report-420.pdf - Aircraft Speed Instruments (http://aerade.cranfield.ac.uk/ara/1933/naca-report-420.pdf)
Title: Re: DVII and DR1 Air Speed Gauge
Post by: FLS on February 22, 2011, 09:01:32 AM
Thanks Sid!   :cheers: