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.
Build, Test, Refine and Fix—Part 5: High AoA Pitch Characteristics
Evaluating pitch stability, stick force gradients, and pitch-up warnings in stall testing to ensure safe handling at high angles of attack.
Build, Test, Refine and Fix—Part 4: Stall Characteristics
Stall behavior plays a critical role in flight testing. Learn how design tweaks like stall strips and slots improve safety during early flights.
Build, Test, Refine and Fix—Part 3: High-Speed Taxi Testing
High-speed taxi testing requires precise control, detailed planning and cautious execution as speeds approach stall and rotation thresholds.
Build, Test, Refine and Fix—Part 2: Taxi Testing
All aircraft testing, including taxi tests, requires planning and discipline.
Build, Test, Refine and Fix—Part 1: Ground Tests
At some point, a configuration of the airplane is frozen, a prototype is built and testing begins.
Magic Configurations
Designers are continually trying to create new and better machines that will outperform and outsell what is currently available.
Marketability
The manufacturer must be able to sell enough airplanes to stay in business and make some money.
Manufacturing Considerations
The designer must consider all three factors: Mission, Manufacturing and Marketing.
Choosing the Configuration
Most of our recent discussions on the process of designing an airplane were based on the assumption that the airplane has a generally conventional...
In Case You Missed It
My Home Airport
Recently I walked into Van’s Aircraft and kissed the cutest engineer I could find....
Second Chance Six
Part 7: Did you know that trailering an airplane across town is an all-day event? I didn’t.
Going Overboard
Have you ever lost anything out of an airplane? Gravity being omnipresent—and apparently increasing...