I learned something new a couple days ago. A lot of you aircraft guys will already be familiar with this I’m sure. It’s called
The Magnus Effect. By definition “Magnus effect, generation of a sidewise force on a spinning cylindrical or spherical solid immersed in a
fluid (liquid or gas) when there is relative motion between the spinning body and the fluid.”
I always knew that a spinning ball will curve, I just never knew the science behind it, it’s what allows a pitcher in baseball to throw crazy curve balls,
View attachment 240568
Or a soccer player to bend a ball into the goal net,
View attachment 240569
But what really surprised me is that the same law of physics can be applied to aircraft,
View attachment 240571
Spinning cylinders can act as wings, maybe not as well as true wings, but the fact that they work at all surprised me.
View attachment 240570
I even watched a YouTube video where these college students made a flying RC plane out of spinning chicken take out buckets.
View attachment 240573
There have been attempts in the past to create full size planes using spinning cylinders as wings.
“The
Plymouth A-A-2004 was built for Zaparka in 1930 by three anonymous American inventors. It was reported to have made successful flights over
Long Island Sound.
An inherent safety concern is that if power to the rotating drums were lost—even if
thrust was maintained—the aircraft would lose its ability to generate lift as the drum slowed and it would not be able to sustain flight.”
View attachment 240574
They have also built ships that have used cylinders as sails, they have reported that even though it takes engines to drive the spinning cylinders that they are 20-30% more fuel efficient than similar sized prop driven ships.
View attachment 240572
I found all this quite interesting. Never too old to learn something new!