GESchwarz
Well-Known Member
My purpose in starting this thread is to solicit you for design guides and checklists, so that I, and others, don’t miss anything or do something out of sequence in a way that may not be so efficient.
The following is the path I'm currently taking:
It should go without saying that one shoud have many years of experience in studying and otherwise accumulating knowledge about aircraft structures and aerodynamics. You should be a long-time student of engineering and pilot error so as to gain a broad range of knowledge about every aspect of aviation engineering. Reading NTSB reports should be standard bedtime fare.
Establish the Customer/user requirements including desired flight characteristics, and all other constraints imposed on the design by the FAA, Budget, and Storage.
Identify other aircraft which have similar characteristics. Study them and other designs to see if what ideas or actual parts can be adopted. Ideas can be obtained by studying all aircraft structures of every type. Frequenting places where planes are being restored is a treasure trove of learning material.
Identify all purchased parts and determine the characteristics, requirements and constraints they impose on the design. Obtain ergonomic drawings for the cockpit layout.
Make a rough three view drawing.
Build a scale mockup of the design. The mockup allows you to see what cannot be seen on a drawing, or in the imagination.
Present the drawing and the mockup to your EAA Technical Advisors for critique.
Purchase all the key parts that your design must accomodate.
Make the drawings and start fabricating.
I’m a big believer in concurrent engineering because every part is affected by the parts around it. So the last thing you want to do is start building without having all the design work done and having key people's blessing.
In a little bit, I will be attaching some pictures of my scale mockup to get your guy’s criticism.
The following is the path I'm currently taking:
It should go without saying that one shoud have many years of experience in studying and otherwise accumulating knowledge about aircraft structures and aerodynamics. You should be a long-time student of engineering and pilot error so as to gain a broad range of knowledge about every aspect of aviation engineering. Reading NTSB reports should be standard bedtime fare.
Establish the Customer/user requirements including desired flight characteristics, and all other constraints imposed on the design by the FAA, Budget, and Storage.
Identify other aircraft which have similar characteristics. Study them and other designs to see if what ideas or actual parts can be adopted. Ideas can be obtained by studying all aircraft structures of every type. Frequenting places where planes are being restored is a treasure trove of learning material.
Identify all purchased parts and determine the characteristics, requirements and constraints they impose on the design. Obtain ergonomic drawings for the cockpit layout.
Make a rough three view drawing.
Build a scale mockup of the design. The mockup allows you to see what cannot be seen on a drawing, or in the imagination.
Present the drawing and the mockup to your EAA Technical Advisors for critique.
Purchase all the key parts that your design must accomodate.
Make the drawings and start fabricating.
I’m a big believer in concurrent engineering because every part is affected by the parts around it. So the last thing you want to do is start building without having all the design work done and having key people's blessing.
In a little bit, I will be attaching some pictures of my scale mockup to get your guy’s criticism.
