ing. But if you were in a high-G turn, if the car did let go, the back end would come around first. Everybody knew that, and the 911 developed a reputation for being too dangerous for mere mortals to drive, especially the turbo version. I had an’ 87 for a long time, and never came close to spinning it. So I always wondered if the scary reputation was really warranted, or if maybe it contributed to a sort of a macho factor that owners enjoyed.
Porsche tried to replace the 911 several times. Their most serious attempt was the 928, produced between 1978 and 1995. The air-cooled 911 outlived it, and the water-cooled 911, with the engine still mounted behind the rear axle, lives on today. The 928 had a conventional front engine layout, and by all accounts was just as fast as a similarly equipped 911. It had far better ergonomics: An hour in traffic in a 911 would have you wishing for a much lighter clutch, a shift linkage that gave you a reliable indication of what gear you were selecting, a heater that worked( if it was winter), or an air conditioner that worked( if it was summer). On paper, the 928 was definitely the better choice, but people kept buying those terrifying, hard to live with 911s.
So, the Cardinal was killed off for having a reputation for danger that it probably didn’ t deserve. The 928 died out, maybe because the 911 had a reputation for being more dangerous than it actually was. How much of our flying comes down to a balance between safety on the one hand, and enjoying mastery of something“ dangerous” on the other?
I guess what I really want is – a Cardinal converted to a tail dragger …
Question: Hudson – I’ ve been working on some calculations related to the airfoil choice for a new wing for a Volksplane, and I’ m not sure I can trust my drag estimates, particularly with respect to laminar flow. If I test a 1 / 16 th scale airfoil with a model in my wind tunnel, will the results still be valid for a full sized wing? F. Wagoner, Las Cruces
Answer: F. Wagoner, when you scale up an airfoil, you need to consider Reynolds Number. The Reynolds Number is a dimensionless quantity that is used to predict flow patterns under different situations. Basically, it characterizes the ratio of inertial to viscous forces acting on a fluid, and will be relatively low in laminar situations, and relatively high after transitioning to turbulence farther back on the airfoil. Hey, wait a minute – we’ re talking about your Volksplane, right? There’ s going to be so much drag off of your outsized body sticking up out of that little airplane that you’ re going to get exactly the same overall performance from a Clark Y airfoil as you would with that one John Roncz came up with for the Voyager. You’ d need a whole lot more engine to go fast enough for small airfoil differences to matter. Is this some kind of trick question?
Question: Why do you chase me every time you see me? The silvery colored stray cat in your back yard
Answer: Silvery – if I’ ve told you once, I’ ve told you a thousand times: Stay the heck out my yard! That is my territory. I do not want your foul odor in the grass, on the buildings, or even on the fence. Keep out! I mean it. If I ever get ahold of you, you’ ll be sorry. I don’ t mind my own cats, but I do not care for you at all. Oh, one more thing: The top of the wall over by the gate counts as my territory too. When you jump up there and stare at me, that makes me just as angry as when you’ re in the yard itself.
Question: Hudson, the national election this year was just terrible. Lots of people are really upset about the outcome, and I’ m guessing if it had gone another way, a lot of other people would be really upset. What can I do to get through these contentious elections without becoming miserable and depressed? Bobcat Niven, Las Cruces
Answer: Bobcat – I’ m not sure I like your name, because I dislike pretty much every cat, except my own. Mostly because cats refuse to play by my rules. Anyway, a lot of times, I just break down everything I encounter into these categories: Things I can eat, things I can play with, things that might hurt me, things I can snuggle with, things I can relieve myself upon. Every once in a while, I find something new, and I don’ t know which category it belongs in. In that case, I just bark at it. Like, a lot. Eventually, I usually figure out where it fits. Seems like a lot of people are just barking and barking after the election, maybe because they can’ t figure it out. If I were you, I’ d just go on a walk and look for other things to eat, snuggle or play with; otherwise you’ ll be barking forever.
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