I was having a look around a Venom at Bristol airport and found it quite odd it had holes in the flaps, I had never noticed this before! I think after some discussion I’ve figured it’s to allow clearance for the drop tanks when the flaps are down.
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If this is the case, does anybody have an idea how much of an afterthought this was or if it was in the design from the start?
By: mike currill - 17th October 2014 at 16:24
Aha it all makes sense in the end.
By: Easy Tiger - 17th October 2014 at 11:23
That panel is actually the airbrake and the visible section moves upwards. An equal area underneath forward of the hinge moves downwards. The hole is most likely a way of modifying the area presented to the airflow when extended, reducing loads and buffetting.
By: mike currill - 17th October 2014 at 08:52
I was going to suggest it may have been a step for access to the cockpit but it looks a bit too far outboard of the fuselage to be much use in that respect unless you had very long legs.
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October 16, 2014 at 9:29 pm