I've been lurking here for a while and there seems to be alot of knowledgeable folks so I finally registered. Anyway, I am in the beginning stages of designing my own airplane. I have read Raymer's Homebuilt Design book and I'm sure that I'll be purchasing many other books along the way. I'm not looking to design a new revolutionary airplane or anything, I just want something that is custom tailored to what I want. I also look forward to figuring out how to do it. I am an Engineer for a small custom machine builder and I use Solidworks 2008 almost every day, so I'll be 3d modeling my airplane. This will probably take me a few years just for the design.
I am also a private pilot and I own a 46 Luscombe 8E that I try to spend at least a couple hours a week in.
For the most part, I know what I want in an airplane and I just wanted to get some other, more experienced person's gut feel on whether or not I can meet all of my goals. Here are the main points of what I want:
I want an aluminum airplane with two place side by side seating, conventional landing gear (taildragger), and cub style, bifolding doors on both sides. I would really like to have a 3rd jump seat behind the two main seats, but that is not a must have. It will have classic lines and a polished finish. Power will come from a Rotec R3600 9 cylinder 150hp radial engine. I'm planning on a constant speed prop, but I may go with a fixed pitch. I want it to be capable of light aerobatics like loops, rolls, wingovers, etc. G ratings will be designed to +6/-3 with a 1.5 safety factor. Aerobatic gross weight will be lower than the ultimate gross weight. I'm shooting for an 1000 - 1100lb empty weight, but I am wondering if that is a bit optimistic. Controls should be light and responsive. I would like cruise speed to be in the 140-150 mph range with a 60mph stall speed and short field capabilities similar to that of the Luscombe. Fuel capacity will be 36-40 gallons which will give me a 4.5-5 hour endurance. I want at least a 1000 fpm climb rate at full gross.
So, do you guys have a gut feel on whether or not this is possible or not? I think it is. The Super Decathlon has very similar performance specs, but it has 180hp. Rotect claims that because of its much higher torque output, that their 150hp radial will easily outperform a 160hp O320.
Thanks for the input. I'm sure that I'll have other questions along the way.
Cameron
Lexington, KY
I am also a private pilot and I own a 46 Luscombe 8E that I try to spend at least a couple hours a week in.
For the most part, I know what I want in an airplane and I just wanted to get some other, more experienced person's gut feel on whether or not I can meet all of my goals. Here are the main points of what I want:
I want an aluminum airplane with two place side by side seating, conventional landing gear (taildragger), and cub style, bifolding doors on both sides. I would really like to have a 3rd jump seat behind the two main seats, but that is not a must have. It will have classic lines and a polished finish. Power will come from a Rotec R3600 9 cylinder 150hp radial engine. I'm planning on a constant speed prop, but I may go with a fixed pitch. I want it to be capable of light aerobatics like loops, rolls, wingovers, etc. G ratings will be designed to +6/-3 with a 1.5 safety factor. Aerobatic gross weight will be lower than the ultimate gross weight. I'm shooting for an 1000 - 1100lb empty weight, but I am wondering if that is a bit optimistic. Controls should be light and responsive. I would like cruise speed to be in the 140-150 mph range with a 60mph stall speed and short field capabilities similar to that of the Luscombe. Fuel capacity will be 36-40 gallons which will give me a 4.5-5 hour endurance. I want at least a 1000 fpm climb rate at full gross.
So, do you guys have a gut feel on whether or not this is possible or not? I think it is. The Super Decathlon has very similar performance specs, but it has 180hp. Rotect claims that because of its much higher torque output, that their 150hp radial will easily outperform a 160hp O320.
Thanks for the input. I'm sure that I'll have other questions along the way.
Cameron
Lexington, KY
