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
What’s New
AirGizmos offers new gadgets, RDD Enterprises makes speed brakes for the Vans RV-10, and AeroLEDs offers LED-based nav/strobe lights; edited by Mary Bernard.
Kitfox Celebrates Forty, Too
To say that Kitfox has been successful since then is an understatement.
A Newbie’s View
Can the Zenith CH 750 Cruzer be the gateway airplane to Experimentals? We attempt to find out.
Ask the DAR
What paperwork is necessary when a new owner makes an engine change? If floats are replaced with conventional gear, what does the change in gross weight mean for a plane's LSA status?