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.
Fixed Pitch vs. Constant Speed
Deciding to use a fixed-pitch propeller or step up to the higher weight, cost, and complexity of a constant-speed prop in order to improve performance.
Fixed-pitch Props
A major advantage of a fixed-pitch prop is that it is lighter, simpler and cheaper than one with variable pitch.
A Bit About Blades
Like a wing, a propeller blade is characterized by its area, planform, and airfoil cross section.
Blade Inflow Angle
As the propeller moves through the air, each point on the blade follows a helical path.
Prop Momentum Theory
Proper selection and design of the propeller is one of the keys to airplane performance.
Wind Tunnel
Last month we took a look at using hinge-line offset to aerodynamically balance control surfaces. Offset hinge balances are effective, but they were not...
In Case You Missed It
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;
The Back Yard Flyer
When Dick and Sharon Starks found that Sharon's Airdrome Aeroplanes Morane Saulnier L Parasol replica was TPd at Oshkosh, the search was on to find the culprits. Along the way, they also discovered an innovative new ultralight from Valley Engineering;