Wind Tunnel

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One effect of a rotating propellor: It acts as a gyroscope. What does this mean for the pilot?

Cooling Inlets

3
The cooling air inlet serves two functions: First, and most important, the inlet must ingest enough air to properly cool the engine and accessories...

Wind Tunnel

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Design process, part 6-obstacles.

Wind Tunnel

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Design process-tail volume. By Barnaby Wainfan.

Wind Tunnel

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When is an airplane in trim? At least to the pilot, the airplane is trimmed when no stick force is required to maintain equilibrium. So how do we achieve this? Barnaby Wainfan explains any number of ways to go about it, including the use of trimtabs, spring systems, sparrow strainers and variable incidence tails.

Wind Tunnel

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Design process, part 1-it all starts with the mission.

Wind Tunnel

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This month columnist Barnaby Wainfan takes a look at how the airplane responds in roll when the pilot is maneuvering. Two key factors are roll acceleration and the steady-state roll rate.

Wind Tunnel

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This month we use the accumulated flight-test data to determine what exactly is causing the unacceptable flying qualities of the airplane so that the best way to fix the problem can be identified;
rv-14 aileron

Design Process: Roll Control

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The primary function of the wing is to generate lift, but it must also incorporate control surfaces to control the airplane in roll.

Wind Tunnel

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Columnist Barnaby Wainfan continues his flight-testing discussion by taking up the topic of longitudinal stability. By identifying the origin of the problem, whether it be a control-system issue, a too-small static margin, or a combination of the two, the flight tests he recommends will help to isolate the issue.

In Case You Missed it

Inserting Bolts, Installing Nuts

7
I never set out to write a hardware trilogy, yet here we are. A...

A Tale of Two RVs

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“Homebuilt” aptly describes where most project aircraft are assembled. But as you approach the...

Home Shop Machinist

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Home shop heat treating.

Wind Tunnel

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Columnist Barnaby Wainfan discusses the factors that affect the longitudinal stability of an aircraft during a variety of maneuvers. Designers make compromises to keep stick forces down so that a pilot can control an airplane, but sometimes they go too far, and light control forces can result in problems that are just as serious as those posed by forces that are too heavy. Whats a designer to do? The most important considerations are presented.