Quick tip for those with small airplanes that have no tie-down rings (and here at Oshkosh, we proved last weekend that EVERYTHING needs to be tied down!). This is how Sonex secures their little jets – a ratchet strap all the way around the wing, secured to the ground anchor. The nose gear was secured to the anchor with a shorter strap, wrapped around the strut. Store that one away for later.
In Case You Missed It
RANS S-19
When new aircraft from two very different designers, in this case Randy Schlitter and Richard VanGrunsven, surface with considerable similarities, consensus about basic design tenets must be blowing in the wind. Certainly Light Sport regs do constrain performance considerations, but human factors are more up for grabs, and that’s where one or another design can truly shine; by Marc Cook.
Wind Tunnel
The aerodynamics of an airplane sometimes don't cooperate with the pilots desire to roll, and instead produce both yaw and roll. Contributing factors are aileron parasite drag, induced drag between the wings and changes in the roll rate itself;