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.
Design Process: Vertical Tail Planform
The size and shape of the planform of the vertical tail determine its ability to perform its stabilizing and control functions. In steady-state cruise flight,...
Design Process: The Rudder
The fixed portion of the vertical tail of an airplane provides directional stability. The rudder provides directional control. When the pilot deflects the rudder, it...
Design Process: Vertical Tail Functions–Yaw Stability and Damping
The vertical tail performs multiple tasks to stabilize and control the airplane. This month we will explore what the vertical tail contributes to the...
Design Process: All-Moving Tails
A conventional horizontal tail has a fixed horizontal stabilizer with an elevator hinged to it to provide pitch control. The “fixed” portion of the...
Design Process: Pitch Force Trim
For an airplane to maintain steady-state level flight it must be trimmed in pitch. The airplane is trimmed when the net pitching moment acting...
Design Process: Tail Trim Functions
In addition to stabilizing the airplane in pitch, the horizontal tail must also trim the airplane. In steady-state level flight, the airplane flies at...
Design Process: Horizontal Tail
The horizontal tail has two functions. It provides control power to trim and maneuver the airplane in pitch, and it stabilizes the airplane about...
Design Process: Tail Surfaces
The tail of the airplane performs three functions: It stabilizes the aircraft in both pitch and yaw. It provides trim. It provides control power...
Design Process: End Plates and Winglets
A wing produces a pressure difference between its upper and lower surface. The pressure on top of the wing is lower than the pressure...
Design Process: Wingtips
In our study of wing design, we have progressed from the inner portion and the flaps to the outer part of the span and...
In Case You Missed it
The Repairman Certificate
Those of us who have built or are building Experimental/Amateur-Built aircraft know that one...
