Barnaby Wainfan
Barnaby Wainfan is a principal aerodynamics engineer 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.
Wind Tunnel
Its an age-old duality: stability versus maneuverability. Many factors go into developing and building any aircraft, and the designers choices will affect a pilots workload, for good or ill. Among the topics discussed are trim, pitch stability and yaw stability;
Wind Tunnel
The author discusses the theory and effect of constant-speed propellers on piston-engine airplane performance, and compares fixed-pitch versus constant-speed props, effect on thrust HP and propulsion, the comprises involved in choosing a prop, how props perform in various conditions and phases of flight, how variable-pitch props work, and why a constant-speed prop is the best choice for high-performance aircraft.
In Case You Missed it
Alternative Energies
Rapid strides are being made in the development of ultralight electric motorgliders. Dean Sigler talks to a few of the manufacturers at the forefront of this field.
Build Your Skill: Composites, Part 5
In this series installment, author Bob Fritz takes you through the basics of building a carbon fiber tank, including measuring, layout, patterns, cutting, epoxy-flox application, sanding, sawing, epoxying and finish work.
