Barnaby Wainfan
Barnaby is a Technical Fellow for Northrop Grumman’s Advanced Design organization. A private pilot with single-engine and glider ratings, Barnaby has been involved in the design of unconventional airplanes including canards, joined wings, flying wings and some too strange to fall into any known category.
Wind Tunnel
This month we use the accumulated flight-test data to determine what exactly is causing the unacceptable flying qualities of the airplane so that the best way to fix the problem can be identified;
Wind Tunnel
Its an age-old duality: stability versus maneuverability. Many factors go into developing and building any aircraft, and the designers choices will affect a pilots workload, for good or ill. Among the topics discussed are trim, pitch stability and yaw stability;
Wind Tunnel
The author discusses the theory and effect of constant-speed propellers on piston-engine airplane performance, and compares fixed-pitch versus constant-speed props, effect on thrust HP and propulsion, the comprises involved in choosing a prop, how props perform in various conditions and phases of flight, how variable-pitch props work, and why a constant-speed prop is the best choice for high-performance aircraft.
In Case You Missed It
The Motivated Builder
Building an airplane ranks right up there as one of the most existential things you can do in your lifetime.
Choosing Plumage for Your Homebuilt
A well-designed paint scheme is the perfect finishing touch for your plane.
Roll Your Own
Although the KK-1 is scratch-built, builders Ken Scott and Ken Krueger have used all of the modern tools at their disposal to expedite the design and building process. This month, Scott discusses the more than satisfactory results of load-testing the wing and horizontal stab;