Doc, This discussion reminds me of some challenging issues we hardcore astronomers have been wrestling with in terms of taming air currents in large-mirrored Newtonian telescopes (28"-45"). I admire your willingness to try and test certain hypotheses. What we have been finding in the astronomy world is that the answers to thermal gremlins are not as readily forthcoming as one would hope for and I have been interacting with some very high level engineers and other scientists over the years. We seem to continue to take bites at the apple and seem to move a step forward and then find that at times that we have taken a step and a half back and had to rely on other solutions or return to our starting point. As long as the equipment is not irreparably harmed, it does not seem like too big a deal to experiment. However, as a former scientist myself in another life (25 years ago), I remember times when I was fairly confident of what results I could expect and was sometimes quite surprised that my suppositions did not bear fruit.
I think it is fascinating to play with this machinery. I am doing it with two trikes and a race car and find that what seems obvious is not always the correct solution. Please don't ask me about seating choices :qpnmt: I will maintain a certain amount of mild skepticism as I watch the solutions continue to come forward for improved performance. As many of us would relate, there is no such thing as a perfect machine.
