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Slacker -> RE: The How To's of designing & scratch building planes. (2/4/2004 11:49 PM)
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ORIGINAL: Eaglet50
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Actually I'm thinking that what we want is a table of proportions. Like the nose is X wing chords and the tail moment is N wing chords and the tail chord is 0.Twing chords and the tail area is 0.2453 the wing area. It would create a template of accpetable shaping that could then be sized to fit an individuals needs as to engine size and wing area preferences.
The book, Basics of R/C Model Aircraft Design, by Andy Lennon, has a chapter titled Basic Proportions of R/C Model Aircraft, that has exactly what you are talking about for several different types of models: the basic airplane (high wing cabin), flying boat, floats, glider, and aerobatic plane. These templates show the proportions for everything, including landing gear placement, dihedral, and control surface sizing. Each template (which is presented in 3-view format) also includes a table with engine displacements, wing areas, wing loadings, wheel sizes, and other. The chapter also describes how to lay-out airfoils from coordinates.
The book is actually a compilation of articles that Andy Lennon wrote for Model Airplane News back in the early-to-mid 1990s. The Basic Proportions chapter is a How-To in the November 1996 issue. Perhaps a good place to start would be to have someone scan these proportions, and then work through a design from there, because the proportions can still be an intimidating balance to some people.
I highly recommend the book, it has a wealth of knowledge inside that can be used at any level of experience. You could start with the basic proportions, then use the math in some of the earlier chapters to optimize things as you develop more experience and understanding. I think I learned more about practical applied aerodynamics from this book than all the courses and books I took in college!
I'm 16 and I want to be an aeronautical engineer, and I'm good at math and can understand a lot and if I can't figure out something, I can ask my dad who is an architect, so he's REALLY good at math. Where can I find this book? I'd really like to get it and get an early start on being an aeronautical engineer, and I would like to be able to DESIGN and build my own plane, then watch it fly. I'm currently building a P-51D Mustang out of plans from a 17 1/2" free flight plane that I've taken and multiplied all the demensions by 2, then I'm going to slim the wing a little, because the FF version is really thick. So, where can I get that book? Could you give a link to it, if possible?
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