crackerjazz Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Hi, I'm currently trying to attach the horizontal stabs on my F-14s and wanted to ask if they're really canted slightly? In some blueprint front views they're depicted as horizontal but but angle downwards slightly on others. Some photos seem to show a huge droop but could really be an optical illusion due to the shape of the stabs. I waited for the stabs to move to a fairly flat position before taking a screenshot of this F-14 from the Final Countdown, and they do seem to droop slightly (?). I wanted to get some confirmation before gluing them on (actually I was going to make them movable but intended to put some alignment tabs to create the droop). Thanks in advance! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DonSS3 Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 My suggestion is to peruse through photos to find ones that give you the angle you want, and then perhaps get a protractor and measure the angle. To me it looks like a slight amount of anhedral, but I'm not 100% sure about that. The following link has over 2200 F-14 shots, there's bound to be something of use to you. http://www.airfighters.com/photosearch.php?cra=978&sor=2&lim=5&dis=thumbs This link has over 1900 photos: http://www.airliners.net/search?aircraftManufacturer=18&keywords=F-14&photoCategory=9&sortBy=dateAccepted&sortOrder=desc&perPage=84&display=detail Both sites are known for the quality of their photos, and IMO are well worth bookmarking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skull Leader Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 the scene in question, the Tomcat's stabs are rotated slightly in anticipation of climb, they aren't in a neutral position. This makes them appear canted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vidar_710 Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Hey CJ... Tomcat horizontal stabs have a slightly negative dihedral. Before my flying days in the Navy, I was an F-14 Plane Captain in VF-41. The model builder in me always picked up details. The one thing I took notice on my post start walk arounds while the jet sat powered up with hydrolics on, and flight controls in neutral positions (required for the safety of the Plane Captain) the stabs drooped down. This was observed by looking stab tip to stab tip and noticing the trailing edge of the stabs were not in a matching horizontal line. Every Tomcat build I've done while in the Navy up till now we're based on my observations have had a slightly negative dihedral in the stabilators. Tracy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firewill Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 from NASA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Negative dihedral = anhedral. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 Hi guys, wow, thanks for the wealth of info! Am I glad I asked ! Hey, Tracy -- what an enviable career! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 1 hour ago, Slartibartfast said: Negative dihedral = anhedral. Is that a double negative ? lol I ran across the term polyhedral the other day. Think F4U Corsair... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 (edited) You say polyhedral, I think of 1990's computer graphics. Still used today, the polyhedrons are much smaller. Think skins of warcraft in your favorite sims. Edited April 10, 2017 by Slartibartfast Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.