Speed Slope or Standard…..That is the question….

[Toobuilder]

…It’s really an art question…

Indeed. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on the plug for a composite boot cowl for my Rocket. The “line” of the windscreen goes all the way to the cowl, so it’s about as “speed slopey” as one can get without spilling over to the cowl itself. This mod also incorporates a raised instrument panel hood to increase the limited panel real estate inherent on Rockets.

 

[czechsix]

So here’s a question that Probably belongs in the “Never Ending Debates” forum, but since I am trying to establish a presence here in the “Rocket Ranch”, I’ll throw it out there….. Standard Windshield or Speed Slope? This also gives me a chance to try picture insertions…. And learn how to use polls….

Bottom line is that this is really esthetics - there is no established speed difference, and installation effort seems to be about the same either way. Having flown a couple hundred hours in my little Subsonex which has a REALLY ”speed-slopey” windshield, I can say that the subjectively, the visibility from the pilot seat isn’t quite as good when looking through that long narrow windshield….but there is also something unique in the look. However, I have always wondered if (visually), the essentially straight lines of the Speed Slope go with the essentially curved nature of the canopy. It’s really an art question. But…..let’s see how close the poll coms to 50/50…..


For those not familiar with the two options….here is the standard windshield:

View attachment 54579

And here is the Speed Slope!
View attachment 54580

(Pictures taken from the web……)

Actually I think the ideal for aesthetics is something in between the standard rounded windshield (which is too rounded for my liking) and the 'speed slope' which looks too long and likely has degraded optics and issues with internal reflection (something Sonex pilots are familiar with). Some of you might remember Lyle Hefel (who passed away last year), he built several Lindy-award winning RV-8s back in the 90's and early 2000's, and painted them in P-51 schemes. He used a custom windshield that looked really great...at first glance I thought it was flat, but he pointed out that it actually had a bit of curvature to it. He initially installed one with a flat profile and didn't like it, so he had another one made with a slight curve that perfected the aesthetics and had excellent optics according to him.

 

[vlittle]

Here's my SS windshield with a removable access panel for avionics. My panel is removable, but the access panel makes life simpler.

 

[Toobuilder]

Actually I think the ideal for aesthetics is something…

…that lies in the eye of the beholder. I was planning to spill my windscreen line fairly well out onto the cowl but I’m doing this for me and another Rocket buddy and considering offering this thing to others (if it works out) and didn’t want to drive someone to modify more than really needed. But I do like the very rakish slope look. The Anequim is pretty cool to my eye, and there is no more rakish a windscreen than that! The SR-71 looks blocky in comparison.

As for visual distortion or reflection, I have never seen worse than the stock bubble of my Rocket at night. My particular combination of avionics, interior colors, lack of a glareshield and tinted bubble make it borderline dangerous. I also made a flat wrap for my -8 that had a slight wave in a corner, but considering I made my own oven and form and produced the transparency myself, I considered it good enough. Aside from that minor flaw, the visual from the rest of the transparency was fine. The current project is modeled significantly after the windscreen and canopy of my l-39 Albatross jet and it has no distortion or reflection issues due to the flat wrap windscreen.

As the thread shows, there’s little performance difference in an airplane of this speed class. My efforts are an attempt to decrease noise, increase bird strike protection and give more panel space. As a one piece assembly, the entire forward boot cowl and windscreen is easily removable (also drawing inspiration from my L-39), so access to the Fwd fuselage and avionics should be much improved compared to the standard Rocket setup. These are all incremental improvements, but in the end, they are really minor considerations compared to my obsessive need to tinker.

 

[[email protected]]

Here’s a pic from around 20 years ago in Memphis. My old #3 rocket is blue, crazy paint job is speed slope & taper wing. Some random warbird in the rear.

 

[rvmills]

Paul,

Here's some more photos for your decision-making mixing bowl. Up front, I'm biased . I've been fan of the speed slope windscreen since my first Rocket ride in '05 (with my college bud, that I eventually bought the Super Six from):





Of course, I've been chasing and racing Mark in his tinted speed slope F1 since 2009. I've flown it at Reno as the Pace Plane too, and liked the vis. My take-away has been, since the pilot sits a little further back from the panel in the F1 (and HR-II) than they do in the RV-8, the speed slope didn't negatively impact the vis.





Bird strike protection seems a biggie here too...not a trivial consideration...you remember James' event in my plane...



One last thought, just for fun. The speed slope on Mark's green F1 has always reminded me of another aircraft that was fun...and had good vis too :



Cheers,
Bob

 

[CCG]

Hard to go wrong with the visibility from the tip over in my F-1. The speed slope looks better from the outside!

 

[Toobuilder]

The speed slope on Mark's green F1 has always reminded me of another aircraft that was fun...

Yep, and access was good too! Too bad the tipup windscreen and frame weighs so much.

 

[[email protected]]

Paul,

Here's some more photos for your decision-making mixing bowl. Up front, I'm biased . I've been fan of the speed slope windscreen since my first Rocket ride in '05 (with my college bud, that I eventually bought the Super Six from):

View attachment 59045

View attachment 59046

Of course, I've been chasing and racing Mark in his tinted speed slope F1 since 2009. I've flown it at Reno as the Pace Plane too, and liked the vis. My take-away has been, since the pilot sits a little further back from the panel in the F1 (and HR-II) than they do in the RV-8, the speed slope didn't negatively impact the vis.

View attachment 59047

View attachment 59049

Bird strike protection seems a biggie here too...not a trivial consideration...you remember James' event in my plane...

View attachment 59050

One last thought, just for fun. The speed slope on Mark's green F1 has always reminded me of another aircraft that was fun...and had good vis too :

View attachment 59051

Cheers,
Bob

Bob Gross’ old F1! Good guy, craftsman. He painted that airplane with red flames himself & made his own EFIS. Died of a heart attack on his motorcycle while going to visit his SO. Well played.

 

[vlittle]

Another SS example. Turns out that it is also cheaper to ship. When I bought my bubble from Mark Frederick, he cut the forward section off to fit in a smaller crate. As if cost matters!

 

[F1 Rocket]

Paul,

Here's some more photos for your decision-making mixing bowl. Up front, I'm biased . I've been fan of the speed slope windscreen since my first Rocket ride in '05 (with my college bud, that I eventually bought the Super Six from):

View attachment 59045

View attachment 59046

Of course, I've been chasing and racing Mark in his tinted speed slope F1 since 2009. I've flown it at Reno as the Pace Plane too, and liked the vis. My take-away has been, since the pilot sits a little further back from the panel in the F1 (and HR-II) than they do in the RV-8, the speed slope didn't negatively impact the vis.

View attachment 59047

View attachment 59049

Bird strike protection seems a biggie here too...not a trivial consideration...you remember James' event in my plane...

View attachment 59050

One last thought, just for fun. The speed slope on Mark's green F1 has always reminded me of another aircraft that was fun...and had good vis too :

View attachment 59051

Cheers,
Bob

My first Rocket ride was in Bob Gross’s Rocket. He did the maiden flight on mine as well. Such a crazy genius. I always smile when thinking of him.

Danny