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Jan 22, 2016 at 6:10 comment added Jan Hudec @DrZ214, that does not eliminate anything, just increases the effective wing span. The propeller slipstream rotates so the air moves down outside of the wings. Since the air of the propeller span does not move, the "wingtip" vortex moves to the tip of the propeller.
Jan 22, 2016 at 5:13 comment added DrZ214 @Ethan See above comment. I found out about it from asking a similar question: aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/24525/…
Jan 22, 2016 at 5:13 comment added DrZ214 @JanHudec don't forget the idea of putting propellers at the wingtip, spinning against the vortex direction. Real-world example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_V-173 Dunno if the vortex was perfeclty, totally eliminated, but they were able to make a very low-aspect ratio wing with plenty of lift and maneuverability.
Sep 29, 2015 at 2:22 vote accept Ethan
Sep 24, 2015 at 12:18 comment added Jan Hudec Forget the tips, they have nothing to do with it. The air behind the wing must be moving downward, because it acted on the wing with upward force, so the wing acted on it with downward force and that accelerated the air; and since there is nothing else to cancel the acceleration, the air will, necessarily be moving. And the air outside the wingspan won't. So we have two streams that move relative to each other and that is a vortex. Its vortex line flows from the wingtip, so its called a wingtip vortex. But the cause is not the tip, the cause is the lift and laws of motion.
Sep 24, 2015 at 12:04 comment added Ethan @JanHudec Well my theories still form the vortex, but stop the vortex before it reaches the wing tip. None of my theories avoid the 3rd law of motion. I have tested one of my theories on a paper airplane and saw a longer range in the plane. Not saying it worked, but it reduced it.
Sep 24, 2015 at 11:54 comment added Jan Hudec @Ethan, unless you have found a way to avoid 3rd law of motion, sorry, no, they won't work. And since principle of action and reaction follows directly from conservation of momentum and conservation of momentum from elementary symmetry of space, I really doubt you did.
Sep 24, 2015 at 11:51 comment added Ethan @JanHudec I do have a couple ideas in mind that can prevent wing tip vortex. Haven't tested my theories out though.
Sep 24, 2015 at 11:48 comment added Jan Hudec @Ethan, the air used to produce lift is accelerated downwards (principle of action and reaction a.k.a. Newton's 3rd law) and the air not used to produce lift is not and that is the vortex. All you can do is prevent high speed core at the tip by making the transition from making lift to not smooth.
Sep 24, 2015 at 1:21 comment added KeithS You could, that's basically what blended winglets do. But, there's a balancing act, increasing surface area increases drag, and a flat wingtip is pure drag, no lift.
Sep 23, 2015 at 22:26 comment added Ethan Couldn't you reduce all lift at the wingtip.
Sep 23, 2015 at 22:18 history answered KeithS CC BY-SA 3.0