Battle of the bulge

It happens tonight... and probably tomorrow.

[update]
...and the day after tomorrow and the day after that if need be.

I have half of the work completed, but there are serious problems with the second half. I'm going to try a couple of modifications, but I'm not holding my breath. Today's fortune cookie from lunch says: "A good beginning is half the task." What a wise cookie.

[further update]
I don't know if I'm going to graduate. I fully reduced the data of one of my drag runs and compared it with published data. While I can reproduce my data very well, it doesn't match the published data. The profile drag (read drag caused by air friction) looks acceptable, but the induced drag (read drag due to lift) is much too high, again in comparison to the published data. Perhaps not coincidentally, I'm measuring the lift to be much higher than what it should be.

Now the question at hand: Is what I'm measuring real? Can the small deviations and oscillations of the wing really cause the lift to be twice as much? And even if they are, can my thesis be based on unsteady (read time dependent) phenomenon that may be difficult for other academics to reproduce if not impossible for industry to apply? I'll present my case tomorrow. I hope it doesn't turn into the Nuremberg of my proverbial Battle of the Bulge.

[even further update]
The verdict: I was right, AND I have to fix it if I'm going to finish my thesis. I know exactly what I need to fix/address, but whether or not I can do it effectively is another question. I think I can, and I should know yea or nay in the next couple of days.

[el update ultimo (the last, but maybe the ultimate too) ]
It's been a couple of days, and the problems are addressed. I need to confirm that they're addressed, and then I take benchmark data to see how it compares to what's available in the "literature." I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful. I feel...