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: Cantilever Wings
Last month we began our discussion of the structural layout of the wing with a look at externally braced wings. We now turn our...
Design Process: Braced Wings
As we saw last month, the designer has two fundamental choices of wing structural architecture: cantilever or externally braced. In a cantilever layout all...
Design Process: Wing Structure
Last month we started our discussion of wing design with a look at the vertical placement of the wing on the fuselage (high versus...
Design Process: Wing Design
At this point in the design process, we have gotten the airplane sized, balanced, and after six months of consideration gotten the landing gear...
Design Process: Landing Gear, Part 6
Last month, I ran out of space before getting to the end of our discussion of landing gear. This month, we conclude the series...
Design Process: Landing Gear, Part 5
For the past few editions of Wind Tunnel, we’ve been exploring the factors that drive the configuration and placement of landing gear. Last month...
Design Process: Landing Gear, Part 4
Last month we looked at how the static stability of the airplane when it is sitting at rest on its landing gear affects the...
Design Process: Landing Gear, Part 3
Last month we took a look at the basic characteristics of the two most common landing gear configurations: tricycle and taildragger. We will now...
Design Process: Landing Gear, Part 2
As we started to discuss last month, the landing gear is a major component of the airplane that affects the design in significant ways....
Design Process: Landing Gear
It’s time to turn our attention to a major component of the airplane—the landing gear.
In Case You Missed It
The Fly As You Go Plan
Learned colleague Paul Dye recently wrote about the time-limited nature of aviation hardware. That...
How the RV-8 Came to Be
25 years ago, Richard VanGrunsven designed an aerobatic tandem sport plane that’s also a great traveling machine.
Understanding Experimental Light Sport Aircraft
Dave Martin explains the different designations of factory-built and Experimental Light Sport Aircraft and how they continue to evolve.
