10-04-2011, 12:13 AM
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Forest Sprite
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Back Up in the Woods
Posts: 3,657
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Prior to actual flight testing, wind tunnel testing is still the gold standard, isn't it? Don't get me wrong; simulators generally do an excellent job, especially when they are dealing with fairly conventional 3- or 4FNC designs. RockSim 8 nailed the flight of my Javelin XL for my L1 certification to the inch; I don't think that you could possibly get a more perfect correspondence between the simulation and the subsequent actual flight. But I understand that wind tunnels are still widely used, and there's probably a very good reason for that.
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Mark S. Kulka NAR #86134 L1,_ASTRE #471_Adirondack Mountains, NY
Opinions Unfettered by Logic • Advice Unsullied by Erudition • Rocketry Without Pity
SAM # 0011
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