Wind Tunnel
Builders are often in a rush to prove the airworthiness of their homebuilt projects, but thorough flight-testing is essential.
Wind Tunnel
Taxi testing may seem to be a mere formality, but it is a vital step toward bringing a new aircraft to flight, and is not without its dangers.
Wind Tunnel
Taking off in an aircraft would seem to be a fairly simple, straightforward maneuver. But in fact it’s complicated, and a combination of factors must be just right for it to work.
Wind Tunnel
Learn how wingtip vortices are generated and how wake turbulence can affect your aircraft.
The STOL Equation
Barnaby Wainfan explains the challenges designers face in creating viable STOL aircraft.
Wind Tunnel
The way lift is distributed along a wing's span affects both the structure and its aerodynamics.
Understanding and Avoiding Spins
A pilots ability to recover from a spin depends just as much on the design characteristics of the airplane as on stick-and-rudder skills.
Interference Drag Adds Up
Barnaby Wainfan explains the role of properly designed wing-fuselage junctions in reducing interference drag.
Wind Tunnel
Barnaby Wainfan examines the design factors that can mitigate damage in an accident and increase the chances of survival.
Wind Tunnel
Its easy to get carried away with new systems and technology that promise to make your airplane faster, smarter and even safer. But sometimes more is just more.
In Case You Missed It
The Case for Strakes
These small additions to your aircraft can make a significant improvement in its pitch response and authority at high angles of attack. Barnaby Wainfan gives you the strake story.
Ask the DAR
DAR Mel Asberry continues his discussion of aircraft operating limitations by looking at why we do what we do during those important Phase I tests.
Design Process: Wing Size and Stall Speed
Last month, we began discussing the factors that can drive the wing of our...