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 Spin Considerations
Not every airplane is designed to perform intentional spins, but that doesn’t mean the designer can safely ignore the effect of the vertical tail...
Design Evolution on Display
In the antique/classics parking at AirVenture this year we found a replica of Benny Howard's Mr. Mulligan parked between a pair of Howard DGA-15s....
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...
In Case You Missed It
Love the One You’re With
Once you finish building a project, it's tempting to second-guess whether you should have done something different, or perhaps waited for the next gen of a new technology to make an appearance. But flying two differently powered Sportsman aircraft gave Editor in Chief Marc Cook a new appreciation for his own airplane and its more than adequate capabilities.
![Aircraft designs now can be built in a fraction of the time necessary in the early days of homebuilding. [Credit: Adobe Stock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AdobeStock_1336488.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Kit Building Then and Now")