Talk:Speed to fly

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[edit] Aim of StF

I've rephrased the definition in the opening para, & also pointed out that StF is independent of the wind speed. I hope it's an improvement. Of course the previous version:

"minimize the amount of time spent in the sinking air"

wasn't wrong—it just didn't tell the whole story, & almost suggested that you should fly at VNE between thermals! --NigelG (or Ndsg) | Talk 11:01, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Theory

What about a shortish section on the theory? The articles in S&G aren't available to the average reader, so a summary here would be useful. Perhaps someone with more graphical skill than myself (take a bow, JMcC!) could upload the classic Polar curve diagram which enables you to read off the StF & the average XC speed simultaneously. From an intuitive point of view, the whole derivation stems from the "steady state" fact that over the flight as a whole the total climb equals the total sink.

Incidentally, the Performance section in Polar curve should mention that the average thermal strength is part of the equation. --NigelG (or Ndsg) | Talk 16:05, 23 February 2007 (UTC)