Tag: electric aircraft

Hardened steel mandrels for close-quarters dimple dies.

This month, a new column introduces Designated Airworthiness Representative Mel Asberry, who describes his background in homebuilding and details some of what hes looking for as a DAR. Questions welcome.

When it came to choosing a kit aircraft to build, columnist Amy Laboda and her husband opted for a metal design, in part because it would be resistant to destruction by lightning strike and also because fatigue is easier to detect in metal than it is in a composite plane. However, new nanotube technology, if integrated into composite construction material, could not only help identify wear problems, but also potentially heal them.

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;